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Figure 3 | BMC Geriatrics

Figure 3

From: The physical capability of community-based men and women from a British cohort: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk study

Figure 3

Absolute mean maximum grip strength (kg) (3a) and relative mean maximum grip strength (natural log of grip strength, lnkg) (3b) in men and women by 5-year age group. Linear regression models estimate the mean maximum grip strength (3a) and the natural log of the mean maximum grip strength (3b) per age category using the least squares method. Models were fitted with an interaction term between age-group and sex (both categorical variables) and age-group, sex, height and weight were also included as individual covariates. Figure 3a shows that the slope of the cross-sectional association of grip strength with age is much steeper in men than women. Accordingly, when age-group is entered as a continuous variable into the model, an interaction between age-group and sex is observed (β=1.20 kg, p<0.001). Figure 3b represents the relative grip strength by age-group. The cross-sectional association between age and grip strength now appears similar in both sexes. When age-group is entered as a continuous variable into the model, the interaction term between age-group and sex indicates that the gap between men and women decreases by 0.7% per 5 years (β=0.007, p=0.01), a much smaller effect size.

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