Hand grip strength and future hospitalisations in Māori and non-Māori New Zealand octogenarians: the LiLACS NZ cohort study.

AIM: With the population ageing, age-related illness and hospitalisation are of concern. Chronic sarcopenia, low muscle strength and mass, and hand grip strength (HGS) are known to be associated with future hospitalisation in older people. The aim here was to determine the association of ethnicity and sex with these relationships in New Zealand octogenarians. METHODS: This paper used data from the LiLACS NZ study, of 421 Māori and 516 non-Māori in 2010-2011 with follow-up hospitalisation data for 13 years. Generalised linear models tested the association between HGS or probable chronic sarcopenia (PCS; defined as a HGS of ≤27kg for men, ≤16kg for women) and hospitalisation rate and total time in hospital. These models were run separately for each ethnicity and sex. RESULTS: Men had greater mean HGS at recruitment than women (30.8 [standard deviation 7.0] Māori men, 30.3 [6.2] non-Māori men, 20.0 [5.2] Māori women, 18.4 [4.5] non-Māori women). HGS was associated with the future hospitalisation rate for Māori women and non-Māori men (adjusted incidence rate ratio [95% confidence interval] of 0.968 [0.942-0.995] and 0.970 [0.951-0.991], respectively) but not for non-Māori women or Māori men. HGS was also associated with future time in hospital for Māori and non-Māori men. PCS was associated with an increased future hospitalisation rate for non-Māori men (1.439 [1.097-1.888]) and total time in hospital for Māori and non-Māori men. CONCLUSIONS: Investment in reducing PCS could reduce the frequency and total length of hospitalisation for older people and reduce inequities for Indigenous Māori in health outcomes.