Hand Dominance and Grip Strength of Older Asian Adults

Hand dominance in a group of Asian adults 60 to 89 years old was examined. Participants were independently living in the community; free of pain, injury, and disease of the upper limbs; and had no restrictions on use of upper extremities in daily activities. The grip strengths of both hands were measured with a Jamar hand dynamometer. Analysis showed that being male, of younger age, and using the dominant hand were significantly associated with stronger grip than being female, of older age, and using the nondominant hand. The dominant to nondominant grip ratio varies from 1.05 to 1.10 across age–sex subgroups.