Triglyceride-glucose index and short-term functional outcome and in-hospital mortality in patients with ischemic stroke

The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has been demonstrated as an independent marker of ischemic stroke. Whether TyG index predicts short-term outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke remains uncertain. The aim of the study was to investigate the early prognosis value of TyG index in ischemic stroke patients.

A total of 3216 acute ischemic stroke patients from 22 hospitals were included in this analysis. The TyG index was calculated as ln (fasting triglyceride [mg/dL] × fasting glucose [mg/dL]/2). Logistic regression model was performed to estimate the relationship between TyG index and unfavorable functional outcome of death or disability (modified Rankin Scale score of 4-6) at discharge. Risk reclassification with TyG index to predict unfavorable functional outcome was analyzed. During hospitalization, 748 patients (23.3%) experienced poor functional outcome and 105 patients (3.3%) died from all causes. The multivariable adjusted odds ratios for the highest versus lowest quartile of TyG index was 1.62 (95% CI 1.15-2.29) for unfavorable functional outcome at discharge. The addition of TyG index to the conventional model improved the risk reclassification (net reclassification improvement 10.37%; integrated discrimination improvement 0.27%; both p < 0.05) for poor functional outcome. Moreover, TyG index was associated with an odds ratio (95% CI) of 1.26 (1.02-1.55) for an ordinal shift in mRS score and 2.49 (1.21-5.12) for in-hospital mortality.

Higher TyG index was associated with higher risk of unfavorable functional outcome at discharge and in-hospital mortality, implicating the significant short-term prognostic effect of TyG index in patients with ischemic stroke.