Normative values and the effects of age, gender, and handedness on the Moberg Pick-Up Test

• Published in: Muscle & nerve Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 788 - 792
• Main Authors: Amirjani, Nasim, Ashworth, Nigel L., Gordon, Tessa, Edwards, David C., Chan, K. Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.06.2007; Wiley
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; aging; Aging - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cranial nerves. Spinal roots. Peripheral nerves. Autonomic nervous system. Gustation. Olfaction; Cues; Feedback - physiology; Female; Functional Laterality - physiology; hand; Hand - physiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Motor Skills - physiology; Movement - physiology; Muscle Contraction - physiology; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Predictive Value of Tests; Reaction Time - physiology; Reference Values; sensation; Sex Characteristics; task performance; Human; Sensation; Handedness; Dexterity; Sex; Sign; aging; Performance; Hand; Elderly; task performance
• ISSN: 0148-639X; 1097-4598
• DOI: 10.1002/mus.20750

The Moberg Pick‐Up Test is a standardized test for assessing hand dexterity. Although reduction of sensation in the hand occurs with aging, the effect of age on a subject's performance of the Moberg Pick‐Up Test has not been examined. The primary goal of this study was to examine the impact of aging and, secondarily, the impact of gender and handedness, on performance of the Moberg Pick‐Up Test in 116 healthy subjects. The average time to complete each of the four subsets of the test was analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney U, and Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests. The results show that hand dexterity of the subjects was significantly affected by age, with young subjects being the fastest and elderly subjects the slowest. Women accomplished the test faster than men, and task performance with the dominant hand was faster than with the non‐dominant hand. Use of normative values established based on age and gender is a valuable objective tool to gauge hand function in patients with different neurologic disorders. Muscle Nerve, 2007