Report Card Brazil: systematic review of muscle strength assessment in children and adolescents in Brazil

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to identify and summarize evidence regarding muscle strength (MS) levels in school children and adolescents (≤ 19 years) in Brazil in order to update previously published evidence from the Report Card Brazil project. The systematic search for information was conducted in seven databases, restricted to studies published during the period from January 2018 to December 2019. Thirteen studies were included, which gathered information from 10,135 children and adolescents from seven Brazilian states. Different tests/protocols for assessing MS were identified, however, handgrip strength was the test most adopted in studies (53.8%). The prevalence of children and adolescents with MS levels considered healthy was 29.8%, considering the totality of information, and 27.6% for males and 31.8% for females. Considering full data reviewed by the Report Card Brazil project (data analyzed in this study in addition to those previously published), information regarding the assessment of MS levels in children and adolescents in Brazil came from studies conducted during the period from 2010 to 2019, which included a sample of 15,208 children and adolescents (aged 7-19 years). According to this information, the prevalence of children and adolescents with MS levels considered healthy in this period was 57.8%, 61.1% for males and 58.8% for females. RESUMO O estudo teve como objetivo identificar e sumarizar evidências referentes à avaliação dos níveis de força muscular (FM) em crianças e adolescentes escolares (≤ 19 anos) no Brasil, com o intuito de atualizar as evidências publicadas anteriormente pelo projeto Report Card Brazil. A busca sistemática das informações foi conduzida em sete bases de dados, restrita aos estudos publicados durante o período de Janeiro de 2018 a Dezembro de 2019. Treze estudos foram incluídos, o que reuniu informações de 10.135 crianças e adolescentes de sete estados brasileiros. Diferentes testes/protocolos para avaliar a FM foram identificados, contudo, a força de preensão manual foi o teste mais empregado pelos estudos (53,8%). A prevalência de crianças e adolescentes que apresentavam níveis de FM considerados saudáveis foi de 29,8% considerando a totalidade de informações, e 27,6% para os meninos e 31,8% para as meninas. Considerando a totalidade de dados revisados pelo projeto Report Card Brazil (informações analisadas neste estudo em adição aos anteriormente publicados), o corpo de informações referente a avaliação