Hand grip strength before and after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in community‐dwelling older adults

Objective To assess the association between SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and decreased hand grip strength (HGS). Design Longitudinal population‐based study. Setting Community‐dwelling older adults (aged ≥60 years) living in a rural Ecuadorian village struck by the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic. Participants Of 282 enrolled individuals, 254 (90%) finished the study. Measurements HGS was measured 3 months before (January 2020) and 9 months after the introduction of the virus into the population (January 2021). SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody testing was performed in two rounds: in May–June (early) and September–November (late), 2020. An independent association between SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and HGS decline was assessed by fitting linear mixed models for longitudinal data. Changes in HGS scores in SARS‐CoV‐2 seropositive subjects, according to the time elapsed since seroconversion, were compared with those who remained seronegative. Results Overall, 149 (59%) individuals became seropositive for SARS‐CoV‐2. The mean HGS (in kg) was 25.3 ± 8.3 at baseline and 23.7 ± 8.1 at follow‐up (p = 0.028), with 140 individuals having >5% HGS decline between both measurements. The follow‐up HGS measurement decreased by 1.72 kg in seropositive individuals, and by 0.57 kg in their seronegative counterparts (p 5% HGS decline at the time of the follow‐up than those with later, i.e., more recent, infections. Conclusions This study shows an independent deleterious impact of SARS‐CoV‐2 on HGS that is more marked among individuals with infections that occurred more than 8 months before follow‐up HGS. Results suggest the possibility of chronic damage to skeletal muscles by SARS‐CoV‐2.