Education, occupation and operational measures of sarcopenia: Six years of australian data

Abstract

Objectives To examine associations of education and occupation with handgrip strength (HGS), lower limb strength (LLS) and appendicular lean mass (ALM). Methods Measures of HGS, LLS and ALM (dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry) were ascertained at baseline in 1090 adults (50‐80 years, 51% women), ~3 and 5 years. Education and occupation were self‐reported, the latter categorised as high‐skilled white collar (HSWC), low‐skilled white collar (LSWC) or blue collar. Separate general estimating equations were performed. Results The highest education group had greater HGS than the middle (0.33 psi) and lowest (0.48 psi) education groups, and 0.34 kg greater ALM than the lowest education group. HGS ..