Background
: Hypertension is a main cause of heart blood vessel disease. To diagnose and treat hypertension, it is necessary to measure blood pressure accurately. There are various factors that influence blood pressure. According to real clinical demonstrators and some recent studies, blood pressure differences between right and left arms are often observed. This study was intended to know whether the differences are really found and wheather the correlation exists between mid-arm circumferences and the blood pressure differences according to right-handed or left-handed which were considered as an important factor in affecting blood pressures.

Methods : One hundred sixty nine college freshmen of year 2001 were chosen. Among them, 103 were right- handed and 66 left-handed. Which arms to be checked first were determined randomly. This sequence was repeated two times on each person. Their mid-arm circumferences were measured, also.

Results : For right-handed persons, systolic blood pressure in right arm (119.2±12.3 mmHg) was significantly higher than in left arm (118.0±12.0 mmHg) (P＜0.005). But diastolic blood pressure differences between right arm (75.3±10.0 mmHg) and left arm (75.0±9.5 mmHg) was not significant statistically. For left-handed persons, systolic blood pressure was 120.3±9.9 mmHg in right arm and 120.0±10.3 mmHg in left arm. However, diastolic blood pressure in right arm (76.7±9.4 mmHg) was significantly higher than in left arm (75.0±8.6 mmHg) (P＜0.005). For right handed persons, their arm circumferences (26.2±2.8 cm) were significantly thicker than left ones (25.9±2.9 cm). For left-handed, left arm circumference (25.9±2.7 cm) was significantly thicker than right one (25.5±2.6 cm). As for the blood pressure difference in arm tested order, the first measured systolic blood pressure (right arm; 120.9±11.7 mmHg, left arm; 120.0±11.9 mmHg) was significantly higher than the second measured one (right arm; 118.3±11.8 mmHg, left arm; 117.8±11.6 mmHg) (P＜0.005). However, the first measured diastolic blood pressure (right arm; 76.3±10.5 mmHg, left arm; 75.5±9.4 mmHg) did not have more significance than the second measured one (right arm; 75.4±9.9 mmHg, left arm; 74.6±10.8 mmHg).

Conclusion : The right-handed person's blood pressure was higher in the right arm, but for the left-handed persons it was not significantly different in both arms. The second measurement of blood pressure was lower than the first measurement in both arms. The arm circumference depending on the right/left-handedness influenced the blood pressure, but clear correlation between them was not observed. Therefore, if possible, when the blood pressure is measured, it is advised to check blood pressure in both arms before diagnosing hypertension.

Background
: Several studies have reported that muscle strength and bone mineral density have a significant positive correlation and most previous literature on muscle strength and bone mineral density examined their association. To evaluate the association between grip strength and radius bone mineral density, more precise PQCT was used rather than SPA or DEXA.

Methods : The study was performed from June to August 1999 in Pundang community with 154 postmenopausal women who undertaken osteoporosis screening program who participated in this study. Bone mineral density was measured at the radius using PQCT (peripheral quantitive computed tomography). Grip and pinch strength were measured in both the dominate and nondominant hand using a dyanometer. Other data were obtained from the questionnaire.

Results : Grip and pinch strength of the dominant hands were significantly higher than the nondominant hands. There was no significant difference in bone mineral density by exercise and fracture history. Age-adjusted partial correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation of radius BMD with dominant hands grip strength. Significant positive correlations also were found between radius BMD and pinch strength.

Conclusion : Subjects with stronger grip strength had a low BMD. There was a significant positive correlationship between bone mineral density and dominant hand grip strength. The data suggest that grip strength is a weak predictor of radius bone mineral density and provide a feasible way of predicting it.