Grip strength was found to be a better predictor of premature death than other barometers, like blood pressure, in a massive study that tracked the health of 139,691 people for a median of 40 years. Another review of literature on the subject concluded: "There is adequate evidence to support the use of grip strength as an explanatory or predictive biomarker of specific outcomes such as generalized strength and function, bone mineral density, fractures and falls, nutritional status, disease status and comorbidity load, cognition, depression and sleep, hospital-related variables and mortality."