Background: Chronic inflammation plays a key role in the pathophysiology of frailty and loss of physical performance, which are closely associated with sarcopenia. In women, the decline in muscle mass and strength is accelerated after menopause. Thus, we examined the association between high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and relative handgrip strength (HGS) in postmenopausal women.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2171 postmenopausal women aged ≥ 45 years who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHNES) between 2015 and 2018. Relative HGS was categorized into quartiles as follows: Q1, < 0.810 (kg/BMI); Q2, 0.810– 0.968 (kg/BMI); Q3, 0.969– 1.119 (kg/BMI); Q4, > 1.119 (kg/BMI). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for high hs-CRP (> 1.0 mg/L, 75 percentile of the current samples) were calculated across relative HGS quartiles using multiple logistic regression analysis.
Results: The prevalence of high hs-CRP decreased with relative HGS quartiles. Compared to the highest quartile, the OR (95% CI) of the lowest relative HGS quartile for high hs-CRP was 3.266 (2.227– 4.789) after adjusting for age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, education, household income, physical activity, strength exercise, smoking, and alcohol ingestion.
Conclusion: Serum hs-CRP level was inversely and independently associated with relative HGS. Our findings indicate that low-grade inflammation is inversely associated with muscle strength in postmenopausal women.



中文翻译：

---

45-80 岁绝经后韩国女性 C 反应蛋白与相对握力之间的关联：一项横断面研究

背景：慢性炎症在与肌肉减少症密切相关的虚弱和身体机能丧失的病理生理学中起关键作用。在女性中，绝经后肌肉质量和力量的下降会加速。因此，我们检查了绝经后妇女高敏 C 反应蛋白 (hs-CRP) 与相对握力 (HGS) 之间的关联。
方法：这项横断面研究包括 2171 名 45 岁以上的绝经后妇女，她们在 2015 年至 2018 年间参加了韩国国民健康和营养调查 (KNHNES)。相对 HGS 分为四分位数如下：Q1，< 0.810 (kg/BMI)；Q2, 0.810–0.968 (kg/BMI); 第三季度，0.969–1.119 (kg/BMI)；Q4, > 1.119 (kg/BMI)。使用多元逻辑回归分析跨相对 HGS 四分位数计算高 hs-CRP（> 1.0 mg/L，当前样本的 75%）的优势比 (OR) 和 95% 置信区间 (95% CI)。
结果：高 hs-CRP 的患病率随着相对 HGS 四分位数而降低。与最高四分位数相比，在调整年龄、高血压、糖尿病、血脂异常、教育、家庭收入、身体活动后，高 hs-CRP 的最低相对 HGS 四分位数的 OR (95% CI) 为 3.266 (2.227–4.789) 、力量锻炼、吸烟和饮酒。
结论：血清 hs-CRP 水平与相对 HGS 呈负相关且独立相关。我们的研究结果表明，低度炎症与绝经后女性的肌肉力量呈负相关。