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Review
. 2025 Sep 1;24(3):543-554.
doi: 10.52082/jssm.2025.543. eCollection 2025 Sep.

Impact of Potential Moderating Factors on Absolute Test-Retest Reliability of Grip Strength Measurements in Healthy Populations: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Takashi Abe  1   2 , Jun Seob Song  3 , Scott J Dankel  4 , Ricardo B Viana  5 , Akemi Abe  2 , Jeremy P Loenneke  6
Affiliations
Review

Impact of Potential Moderating Factors on Absolute Test-Retest Reliability of Grip Strength Measurements in Healthy Populations: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Takashi Abe et al. J Sports Sci Med. .

Abstract

Grip strength, a biomarker, can be measured at any age; however, its values vary daily for each individual, which impacts the assessment. Absolute test-retest reliability (i.e., minimal difference, MD) is commonly defined as the variation in absolute values of measurements taken by a single person or instrument on the same item under identical conditions. Nevertheless, the potential moderators of absolute repeatability in grip strength measurements have not yet been fully elucidated. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to examine the influence of potential moderating factors on the absolute test-retest repeatability of grip strength measurements in healthy populations. PubMed, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched up to January 2025 following the PRISMA guidelines, and 48 studies were included in this review. Age, test-retest interval, and device were used as potential moderating factors; however, sex and sports experience were excluded due to the limited number of published articles. We found considerable variation among studies reporting MD and percentage of MD to measured value (%MD) across each age group. The mean MD (%MD) values were 1.9 kg (25.4%) in young children (<7 years old), 2.5 kg (13.8%) in children (7-10 years old), 4.2 kg (17.1%) in adolescents (10-18 years old), 4.0 kg (11.6%) in young adults (18-35 years old), and 4.7 kg (16.7%) in older adults (>60 years old). Neither age [effect size [ES]: 0.015 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.004, 0.035; p = 0.113) for MD and ES: -0.025 (95% CI: -0.089, 0.039; p = 0.439) for %MD], test-retest interval [ES: 0.006 (95% CI: -0.002, 0.013; p = 0.143) for MD and ES: 0.022 (95% CI: -0.001, 0.046; p = 0.065) for %MD] nor handgrip device (p = 0.752 for MD and p = 0.334 for %MD) served as significant moderators of MD and %MD reliability. Due to the limited number of studies, sex and sports experience were excluded from the analysis; as a result, their impacts remain unknown.

Keywords: Dynamometer; handgrip; peak muscular strength; reproducibility.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flowchart of outcomes of the search strategy.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The relationship between the average age of study participants and the absolute reliability [minimal difference (MD) and percentage of minimal difference to the measured value (%MD)] of handgrip strength measurements. In studies where MD was calculated using handgrip strength values of both hands, 1/2 MD value was used. %MD = MD / average handgrip strength * 100
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abe T., Thiebaud R. S., Loenneke J. P. (2016) Age-related change in handgrip strength in men and women: Is muscle quality a contributing factor? Age 38(1), 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-016-9891-4 10.1007/s11357-016-9891-4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abe T., Dankel S. J., Buckner S. L., Jessee M. B., Mattocks K. T., Mouser J. G., Bell Z. W., Loenneke J. P. (2018) Short term (24 hours) and long term (1 year) assessments of reliability in older adults: Can one replace the other? Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice 7, 82-84. https://doi.org/10.14283/jarcp.2018.15 10.14283/jarcp.2018.15 - DOI
    1. Abe T., Loenneke J. P., Thiebaud R. S., Loftin M. (2019) The bigger the hand, the bigger the difference? Implications for testing strength with 2 popular handgrip dynamometers. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation 28(3), 278-282. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2017-0189 10.1123/jsr.2017-0189 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abe T., Thiebaud R. S., Ozaki H., Yamasaki S., Loenneke J. P. (2022) Children with low handgrip strength: A narrative review of possible exercise strategies to improve its development. Children (Basel) 9(11), 1616. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111616 10.3390/children9111616 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abe T., Sanui R., Sasaki A., Ishibashi A., Daikai N., Shindo Y., Abe A., Loenneke J. P. (2022) Optimal grip span for measuring maximum handgrip strength in preschool children. International Journal of Clinical Medicine 13(11), 479-488. https://doi.org/10.4236/ijcm.2022.1311035 10.4236/ijcm.2022.1311035 - DOI