Hand grip strength and diabetic foot ulcers: A mini-review

Nikolaos Karakousis; Elisavet Pyrgioti; Dimitrios Karagiannakis; Petros Georgakopoulos; Konstantinos Alexiou; Nikolaos Papanas

Nikolaos Karakousis Second Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes Centre-Diabetic Foot Clinic, Democritus University of Thrace, Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
Elisavet Pyrgioti Independent researcher, Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Karagiannakis Academic Department of Gastroenterology, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Petros Georgakopoulos Primary Healthcare, Internal Medicine Department, Attica, Amarousion, Greece
Konstantinos Alexiou Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, IASO Thessalias, Larissa, Greece
Nikolaos Papanas Second Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes Centre-Diabetic Foot Clinic, Democritus University of Thrace, Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece

Keywords: hand grip strength, diabetes mellitus, diabetic foot, diabetic foot ulcers, sarcopenia

Abstract

This narrative mini-review article aimed to discuss the emerging association between hand grip strength (HGS) and diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). HGS is related to muscle strength and conditions such as sarcopenia. However, it can be utilized as a confirmative evaluation test of sarcopenia after initial screening tools such as the SARC-F questionnaire. Diabetes mellitus (DM) seems to be related to sarcopenia and skeletal muscle mass loss. In this narrative mini-review article, it was demonstrated that older type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects with DFUs had a higher rate of low HGS, while low HGS was significantly related to the occurrence of DFUs. Additionally, HGS might be a significant predictor not only of wound healing but also of the overall survival of DFU subjects and the likelihood of amputation. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to enable definitive conclusions and suggest potential practical implications.