Combined handgrip strength and walking pace, genetic susceptibility, and incident hypertension: A prospective study in UK Biobank

Introduction We aimed to investigate the relations of handgrip strength, walking pace and the combination of handgrip strength and walking pace with incident hypertension, and to explore whether this association was modified by the genetic risk of hypertension. Methods 214 214 participants without prior hypertension in the UK Biobank were included. Handgrip strength was assessed by dynamometer. Walking pace was self‐defined as slow, average, or brisk. The study outcome was incident hypertension. A genetic risk score for hypertension was generated using a Bayesian approach applied to meta‐analyzed summary statistics GWAS data. Results Over a median follow‐up of 11.9 years, 13 344 (6.2%) participants developed incident hypertension. When handgrip strength was assessed as sex‐specific quartiles, compared with those with the lowest handgrip strength (quartile 1), the adjusted HRs (95% CI) of incident hypertension in quartile 2, quartile 3, and quartile 4 were 0.80 (0.69, 0.93), 0.74 (0.64, 0.86), and 0.72 (0.61, 0.84), respectively. Compared with those with slow walking pace, participants with average (HR, 0.52; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.67) or brisk (HR, 0.43; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.56) walking pace had significantly lower risks of hypertension. Moreover, compared with those with both lower handgrip strength (quartile 1) and slow walking pace, the lowest risk of incident hypertension was observed in participants with both high handgrip strength (quartiles 2–4) and fast (average or brisk) walking pace (HR, 0.36; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.52). Genetic risks of hypertension did not significantly modify the association ( p ‐interaction = 0.300). Conclusion Both higher handgrip strength and faster walking pace were significantly associated with a lower risk of incident hypertension, independent of genetic risks of hypertension.