Anais do 11 º Congresso Brasileiro de Epidemiologia

Objective: to compare muscle strength by gender and age among the elderly in two population-based studies in Brazil and in Germany. Methods: cross-sectional, population-based epidemiological study, with participants aged between 65 and 79 years old of both genders, from the baseline examination of the studies “Vida e Saúde em Pomerode/SC – SHIP-Brazil” (n = 482), and “Study of Health in Pomerania - SHIP-Trend", Germany (n = 1098). Muscular Strength (MS) was estimated based on the Hand Grip Strength (HGS), measured with a Jamar Plus® dynamometer, considering the highest measure. HGS was measured in kilograms. Results: the median of HGS was lower in women in SHIP-Brazil (22.7 vs 35.3, p <0.0001) and in SHIP-Trend (24 vs 41, p <0.0001). The 75–79 year-olds group presented the lowest median of HGS values when compared to the 65-69 year-olds group, both for women (SHIP-Brazil: 21.2 vs 22.9, p <0.0027; SHIP-Trend: 22 vs 25, p <0.0001), and for men (SHIP-Brazil: 30.4 vs 38.1, p <0.0003; SHIP-Trend: 38 vs 42, p <0.0001). Conclusion: MS is lower in women and decreased with age in both populations. Moreover, the elderly participants from SHIP-Brazil had lower absolute values when compared with SHIP-Trend. It’s suggested further work to better understand factors possibly related to the observed differences.