A cross-sectional analysis of age and sex patterns in grip strength, tooth loss, near vision and hearing levels in Chinese aged 50-74 years

By focusing on four health variables, handgrip strength, near visual acuity, tooth loss and hearing level, this study examined the different patterns of age-related changes in these variables in Chinese aged from 50 to 74 years, as well as explored the relationship among the variables in a cross-sectional sample of 2006 individuals. The data exhibited high quality with a low missing rate of under 5% in any age groups for each variable. Effects of age and sex on the changes in the four health variables were assessed using multiple regression models with age and sex interactions included. Upon the highly significant effects of age on all four measurements, we observed substantially higher grip strength for men who, however, exhibited a faster age-related decline than for women. No sex difference or age-sex interaction was found in the number of teeth lost. Near visual acuity displayed a faster age-related decline in women than in men but neither the overall sex difference nor age-sex interaction reached statistical significance. For hearing function, while no sex difference was found at middle frequency, women had better sensitivity at high frequency and men were more sensitive at low frequency. Multivariate analysis did not support an age-related common mechanism underlying the four health variables. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.