{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T09:11:50Z","timestamp":1788772310183,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,5]],"date-time":"2026-09-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788566400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Chile","award":["DIUA 249-2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DIUA 249-2022"]}]},{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Chile","award":["DIP 325-2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DIP 325-2025"]}]},{"award":["DIUA 249-2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DIUA 249-2022"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/010r9dy59","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["DIP 325-2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DIP 325-2025"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/010r9dy59","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Handgrip strength is a simple and reliable indicator of muscular fitness during childhood. However, updated reference values for handgrip strength in preschool children remain limited in many countries, including Chile. This study aimed to develop updated age- and sex-specific reference values for maximum handgrip strength in preschool children aged 4\u20136 years from the Araucan\u00eda Region, Chile, and to examine its associations with age and anthropometric characteristics. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 899 preschool children (464 boys and 435 girls) from the Araucan\u00eda Region, Chile. Handgrip strength was assessed using a Takei 5401 digital dynamometer following the PREFIT protocol. Maximum handgrip strength was defined as the highest value obtained from either hand. Age- and sex-specific percentile reference values (P5, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90, and P95) and interpolated percentile curves were generated. Associations of maximum handgrip strength with age and anthropometric variables were examined using Spearman\u2019s rank correlation coefficients. Results: Maximum handgrip strength increased progressively from 4 to 6 years in both sexes, with boys showing significantly higher mean values than girls at each age (all p \u2264 0.011; Cohen\u2019s d = 0.28\u20130.65). Median (P50) maximum handgrip strength increased from 6.5 to 9.1 kg in girls and from 7.2 to 9.9 kg in boys. Height showed the strongest correlation with maximum handgrip strength (\u03c1 = 0.554), followed by body weight (\u03c1 = 0.463), age (\u03c1 = 0.458), waist circumference (\u03c1 = 0.307), and body mass index (\u03c1 = 0.184) (all p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: This study provides updated age- and sex-specific reference values and interpolated percentile curves for maximum handgrip strength in preschool children aged 4\u20136 years from the Araucan\u00eda Region, Chile. These regional reference data may facilitate the interpretation of handgrip strength performance in preschool children assessed under comparable conditions and provide a useful resource for physical fitness assessment and future research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13091200","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T08:07:06Z","timestamp":1788768426000},"page":"1200","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Updated Age- and Sex-Specific Reference Values and Anthropometric Correlates of Maximum Handgrip Strength in Preschool Children from the Araucan\u00eda Region, Chile"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8613-6838","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andr\u00e9s","family":"Godoy-Cumillaf","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n en Educaci\u00f3n F\u00edsica, Salud y Calidad de Vida (EFISAL), Facultad de Educaci\u00f3n, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Chile, Temuco 4780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4372-0836","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Josivaldo","family":"de Souza-Lima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Educaci\u00f3n y Ciencias Sociales, Instituto del Deporte y Bienestar, Universidad Andres Bello, Las Condes, Santiago 7550000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2685-8991","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Frano","family":"Giakoni-Ram\u00edrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Educaci\u00f3n y Ciencias Sociales, Instituto del Deporte y Bienestar, Universidad Andres Bello, Las Condes, Santiago 7550000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-5354-1313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catalina","family":"Mu\u00f1oz-Strale","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Educaci\u00f3n y Ciencias Sociales, Instituto del Deporte y Bienestar, Universidad Andres Bello, Las Condes, Santiago 7550000, 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F\u00edsica, Facultad de Filosof\u00eda y Educaci\u00f3n, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Valpara\u00edso, Valpara\u00edso 2340025, Chile"},{"name":"METIS Research Lab, Facultad de Negocios y Tecnolog\u00eda, Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio (UAX), 28691 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4027-4415","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudio","family":"Farias-Valenzuela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Ciencias de la Actividad F\u00edsica, Universidad de Las Am\u00e9ricas, Santiago 1530000, 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