O037 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MAXIMAL HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND FORCE-TIME CURVE INDICATORS WITH FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN A MULTICENTRE CROSS-SECTIONAL SAMPLE OF HEART FAILURE OUTPATIENTS FROM THE NUTRIC PROJECT

O037

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MAXIMAL HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND FORCE-TIME CURVE INDICATORS WITH FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN A MULTICENTRE CROSS-SECTIONAL SAMPLE OF HEART FAILURE OUTPATIENTS FROM THE NUTRIC PROJECT

M. Cunha Rodrigues^1,2,*, R. Guerra^2,3,4, R. Valdiviesso^1,5, F. Martins⁶, A. Teixeira⁷, I. Marques^8,9,10,11, R. Baptista^12,13, N. Borges^1,5, T. F. Amaral^1,2

¹Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, n.º 823, 4150-180, ²INEGI – Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, LAETA - Associate Laboratory for Energy, Transports and Aerospace, ³FP-I3ID, FP-BHS, Faculty of Health Sciences, Fernando Pessoa University, ⁴RISE-Health, Fernando Pessoa University, Fernando Pessoa Teaching and Culture Foundation, ⁵RISE-Health, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto, Porto, ⁶University of Coimbra, CeBER, Faculty of Economics, Av. Dias da Silva 165, 3004-512, Coimbra, ⁷Health Service of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, EPERAM, Funchal, ⁸TR - Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health, ⁹Department of Internal Medicine, Unidade Local de Saúde de Santo António, ¹⁰UMIB - Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, ICBAS - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, ¹¹CAC ICBAS-CHP – Clinic Academic Center, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar - Unidade Local de Saúde Santo António, Porto, ¹²Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, Coimbra, ¹³Cardiology Department, Unidade Local de Saúde de Entre Douro e Vouga, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal

Rationale: Maximal handgrip strength(mHGS) is a well-established indicator of physical function and nutritional status in heart failure(HF) patients. However, HGS force-time curve indicators may provide insights into functional decline, though their performance remains unexplored. This study investigates the association between HGS indicators and mHGS with functional status(FS) in HF patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional multicentre study in a sample of HF outpatients from 3 hospitals. HGS data were collected using a digital dynamometer: mHGS, total area under the force-time curve(AUC), pre- and post-peak AUC. New York Heart Association(NYHA) functional classes were registered. Ordinal regression models were computed with NYHA I, II and III categories as dependent variables. Separate models were performed for mHGS, total AUC, pre- and post peak AUC, with sex, age, left ventricle ejection fraction as independent variables. Results are expressed as odds ratio(OR); 95% confidence intervals(CI).

Results: A total of 207 outpatients (44%women,71±12.5y) were included. Mean mHGS(kgf) was 19.1±8.4(men:23.7±8.0;women:13.3±12.9,p<0.001) and 29.5%, 52.2% and 18.4% were classified as NYHA I, II and III, respectively. For each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in mHGS, the odds of being in a higher NYHA class decreased by 36%; 1SD increase in total AUC was associated with a 47% reduction (OR=0.53;95%CI:0.35-0.81); a similar increase in post-peak AUC led to a 42% reduction (OR=0.58;95%CI:0.40-0.87). No associations were found for pre-peak AUC.

Conclusion: This study is pioneering in demonstrating that force-time curve indicators may be more strongly associated with FS in HF outpatients than mHGS. A detailed HGS analysis could provide a more sensitive assessment of FS in HF. UIDB/50022/2020

Disclosure of Interest: None declared