Associations of cardiovascular risk factors with handgrip strength and gait speed among older males and females: A systematic review protocol.

Cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking are associated with poor physical function among older people.

• Handgrip strength and gait speed are identified as key measures of physical function indicating general health status among older people.
• The paper notes it is unclear which cardiovascular risk factors have the greatest impact on these physical function measures in older adults.
• The protocol is designed to systematically investigate these associations.

Gender differences in cardiovascular disease risk exist, with older women with a history of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension being more prone to cardiovascular events than older men.

• These differences may be related to different patterns of cardiovascular aging between men and women.
• Different cardiovascular aging patterns may impact physical function of older men and women differently over time.
• The systematic review protocol specifically aims to assess whether associations between cardiovascular risk factors and physical function vary by sex.

A systematic search will be conducted across five major databases to identify studies on cardiovascular risk factors and physical function in older adults.

• Databases to be searched include PubMed, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase.
• The Rayyan platform will be used for sorting and tracking of articles.
• The protocol follows Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) recommendations.
• The protocol is registered under CRD420251167299.

The systematic review will include cross-sectional and/or longitudinal studies involving community-dwelling older individuals that assessed associations between cardiovascular risk factors and physical function measures.

• Eligible physical function measures are handgrip strength and/or gait speed.
• Two researchers will extract data from selected articles independently and blindly using a purpose-built instrument.
• Discrepancies between reviewers will be resolved by a third reviewer.
• The main reviewer will conduct the initial search and exclusion of duplicates.

The methodological quality of included studies will be assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.

• This quality assessment tool is specifically designed for observational cohort and cross-sectional study designs.
• Both cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs are eligible for inclusion in the review.
• Data extraction will be performed using an instrument built specifically for this research.