Get a Grip: What Hand Strength Says About Marriage Prospects and Mortality

The researchers found greater numbers of unmarried men with low grip strength in the second cohort—those born 1936-48—than in the first cohort, reflecting societal trends that have increasingly deemphasized the importance of marriage. “In recent decades, women are less dependent on men economically. At the same time, men have a growing ‘health dependence’ on women,” says Skirbekk. “The fact that many men are alone with a weak grip—a double burden for these men who lack both strength and a lack of support that comes from being married—suggests that more attention needs to be given to this group, particularly given their relatively poor health.”

Policies to help this population might include housing arrangements that encourage social interaction and counselling to better prepare these individuals for old age and information on how to avoid negative health consequences of independent living. “New technologies may potentially offset some of the limitations that low grip strength may imply,” says Skirbekk. “Social policies could also increasingly target this group by providing financial support for those who suffer the double-burden of low strength and lack of spousal support.”

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