Women 60+: the stronger your muscles, the better your chances of living longer

Maintaining muscle strength after age 60 may be just as important for healthy aging as aerobic activity like walking. Researchers led by the University at Buffalo came to this conclusion after analysing data from 5,472 women aged 63 to 99. The results are published in JAMA Network Open.

The scientists assessed strength using two simple tests that are often used in clinics:

• hand grip strength (with a dynamometer),

• and thetime it takes a person to get up from a chair five times without using their arms (chair stands).

The participants were then followed for an average of about eight years and the results of the tests were compared with the risk of death from any cause. It turned out that women with higher grip strength and those who coped faster with getting up from the chair had a lower risk of death. And the link persisted even after the researchers took into account a host of factors: actual physical activity and sitting time (as measured by accelerometers), walking speed, and levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation.

In numbers, it looked like this: every +7kg of grip strength on average corresponded to about 12% lower risk of death. And on the stool test - moving from the slowest to the fastest results (in steps of about 6 seconds each) was accompanied by about a 4% reduction in risk.

Separately, the authors note: even among women who did not gain the recommended 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, higher muscle strength was still associated with lower mortality. This, the researchers say, argues in favour of talking about strength training more often in recommendations for older adults.

The authors emphasise that you don't have to "bodybuild like a bodybuilder" to gain strength: self-weight exercises, resistance bands, dumbbells or even simple objects at home will do. At the same time, they advise older people to discuss the start of strength training with a doctor or specialist, especially if they have chronic diseases or are at risk of falling.