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- Original Article Secular trends in grip strength among Korean adults according to socioeconomic factors: the 2014-2022 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
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Harim Choe1
, Hoyong Sung1
, Yeon Soo Kim2,3
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Epidemiol Health 2025;47e2025074-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2025074
Published online: December 16, 2025
2Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University College of Education, Seoul, Korea
3Institute of Sports Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
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Corresponding author:
Yeon Soo Kim,
Email: kys0101@snu.ac.kr
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Muscle strength is a key indicator of overall health, and its decline has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality. Socioeconomic factors may contribute to disparities in this decline. Therefore, this study aimed to examine trends in muscle strength and to identify groups with lower muscle strength according to socioeconomic variables.
METHODS
We analyzed data from the cross-sectional Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), including 34,080 adults. Multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for socioeconomic and health-related covariates, and KNHANES survey weights were applied to obtain nationally representative estimates that accounted for the complex sampling design.
RESULTS
Overall, mean grip strength significantly decreased from 2014 to 2022 in both males (from 43.45±0.24 to 41.59± 0.29 kg) and females (from 26.48±0.15 to 24.94±0.13 kg). This trend was consistently observed across all covariate strata, except for individuals aged over 70 years and those in the green-collar occupational group. In 2022, grip strength was lower among individuals with the lowest education level (26.45±0.34 vs. 34.75±0.32 kg in the undergraduate group) and the lowest household income level (29.59±0.45 vs. 34.53±0.35 kg in the highest income group), as well as among unemployed individuals (29.36± 0.30 vs. 37.00±0.47 kg in the blue-collar group), compared with their higher socioeconomic counterparts.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide descriptive evidence of grip strength trends and socioeconomic disparities in Korea. They may serve as baseline information to guide future longitudinal studies and inform public health strategies.
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