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Hand grip strength (HGS) is an important diagnostic tool for sarcopenia and a reliable predictor for age-related chronic diseases and mortality. Interventions in nutrition have been shown as a low-cost strategy to maintain muscular strength and mass. However, there are limited data on the effect of diet on HGS in Southeast Asian populations. This study aims to investigate the association of diet quality with HGS weakness and asymmetry in a multi-ethnic population in Singapore. This cross-sectional study used data from the Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort (n = 1547). Dietary data were collected using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ and summarised as the Dietary Quality Index – International (DQI-I). HGS was calculated as the maximum value of six measurements from both hands. HGS weakness and asymmetry were defined using well-recognised criteria. Multivariable linear regression and logistic regression were utilised for continuous and binary outcomes, respectively, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, physical activity and smoking status. It was found that the highest quartile of DQI-I was significantly associated with higher HGS (β = 1·11; 95 % CI 0·41, 1·82; P for trend < 0·001) and lower odds of HGS asymmetry (OR = 0·71; 95 % CI 0·53, 0·94; P for trend = 0·035) and both HGS weakness and asymmetry (OR = 0·50; 95 % CI 0·32, 0·76; P for trend = 0·004). Among the different components of DQI-I, only dietary adequacy was significantly associated with higher HGS (P for trend < 0·001) and lower odds for both HGS weakness and asymmetry (P for trend = 0·006). Our findings support that DQI-I, an indicator of overall diet quality, can be used to provide dietary guidelines for prevention and management of muscle wasting, sarcopenia and frailty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]