Investigating Handgrip Strength as a Practical Biomarker for Therapeutic Endpoints and Nutritional Status in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Current biomarkers for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often rely on invasive procedures and lack broad availability, limiting their utility in clinical practice. This study aims to investigate the association between handgrip strength (HGS) and crucial treatment endpoints in IBD, such as disease activity, endoscopic severity and nutritional status in patients with IBD. This double-center study enrolled patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The disease activity, endoscopic severity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and presence of depressive disorder were evaluated using validated scores. HGS was measured through a calibrated isokinetic dynamometer and the nutritional status of the participants was assessed. A statistical software was used to analyze the data. A total of 144 patients were included in this study. A statistically significant correlation was found between HGS and disease activity ( r s = − 0.182, p = 0.035), HRQoL ( r = 0.330, p < 0.001), depression ( r = − 0.203, p = 0.03) but not endoscopic severity. In patients with CD, the correlations were more pronounced and HGS also correlated with the number of extraintestinal manifestations ( r s = − 0.218, p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristics analysis indicated an acceptable diagnostic accuracy of HGS for malnutrition diagnosis (AUC: 0.733, 95% CI 0.643–0.824, p < 0.001). HGS correlates with crucial endpoints in IBD, with an acceptable accuracy for malnutrition diagnosis. These findings support the value of HGS as an indicator of overall health and nutritional status in routine clinical practice. While normalization of HGS values could be considered a meaningful goal, further prospective studies are necessary to validate its prognostic role in IBD.