Handgrip strength is associated with suicidal thoughts in men: Cross-sectional analyses from NHANES

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between handgrip strength and suicidal thoughts in a representative sample of the US adult population using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). POPULATION AND METHODS: Data from two waves of NHANES (2011-2014) were aggregated. Handgrip strength in kilogram (kg) was defined as the maximum value from the dominant hand. Suicidal thoughts were assessed using one question "Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problem: Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way?" and dichotomized to no (not at all) and yes (several days/ more than half the days/ nea…