A hand dynamometer, ten seconds, and a number that predicts death better than systolic blood pressure does. It is by a wide margin the cheapest measurement on this site — frequently thrown into a longevity tier at no marginal cost — and one of the better-evidenced signals of whether ageing is going well.
Leong DP, Teo KK, et al. “Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study.” Lancet 2015;386:266–273 measured grip strength in 139,691 adults across 17 countries and found each 5 kg reduction associated with significantly higher all-cause, cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality — a stronger predictor of death than systolic blood pressure. As with VO2 max, the association is robust and the intervention question is unanswered: no trial has shown that measuring grip strength, as opposed to resistance training, changes outcomes.
Leong DP, et al. Lancet. 2015. PubMed: PMID 25982160
Singapore guidance
Not covered in the current review
Singapore’s national screening committee has not reviewed this test in the current volume of its report, which covers nine conditions. That is not a verdict either way.
Source: Screening Test Review Committee report 2026, Volume 1 (Academy of Medicine Singapore and Ministry of Health, February 2026). The full national list · How this is used.
What you would actually pay
- Healthier SG
- Not subsidised
- MediSave
- Not among the screenings named for outpatient claims
Source: Healthier SG Screening (HealthHub) and MediSave outpatient care (Ministry of Health). Absence from either list is not a statement that the test is discouraged — only that no subsidy or claim applies. Gross prices compared.
What it costs when it is wrong
- Basis
- No published harm criterion found
- Severity
- Not documented
Not covered in the current volume of the committee’s report, so no harm criterion was found either way.
An empty finding, not a clean bill of health: this means nothing documented was found for this test. It is not a claim that the test is safe.
Screening harm is not only a laboratory question: the committee’s own criteria advise against a test when “the screening test, or follow-up tests arising from a positive screen, are associated with significant medical risks”. Sources on overdiagnosis → · How this is graded.
FAQ
Is the Grip Strength worth doing in Singapore?
For adults without symptoms, Grip Strength sits at the moderate grade on our evidence scale. It typically costs S$0–40 in Singapore. It is most appropriate for everyone over 50, and anyone tracking a resistance-training programme. The usual schedule: every 6–12 months.
Weighing this against something else? Compare it with two other tests → · Price it inside a panel →