Triglyceride-glucose index and the incidence of stroke: A meta-analysis of cohort studies

Insulin resistance (IR) is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. As a new indicator, the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has greater operability for the evaluation of insulin resistance. Previous studies have shown inconsistent results in evaluating the association between the TyG index and stroke incidence in people without stroke at baseline. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically assess this association through a meta-analysis.

Cohort studies with the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) association between the TyG index and stroke were obtained by searching the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases before 16 December 2021. We pooled the adjusted HR along with 95% CI using a random-effects model. The primary outcome was stroke including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. We conducted subgroup analyses stratified by study design, ethnicity, characteristics of participants, weight of studies, and length of follow-up duration. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 17 were used to perform the meta-analysis.

Eight cohort studies with 5,804,215 participants were included. The results showed that participants with the highest TyG index category at baseline compared to those with the lowest TyG index category were independently associated with a higher risk of stroke (HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.24-1.29, I² = 0%, P < 0.001). This finding was consistent with the results of the meta-analysis with the TyG index analyzed as a continuous variable (HR per each-unit increment of the TyG index: 1.13, 95% CI 1.09-1.18, I² = 0%, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis had no significant effects (for subgroup analysis, all P > 0.05). No significant heterogeneity was observed among the included cohort studies.

A higher TyG index may be independently associated with a higher risk of stroke in individuals without stroke at baseline. The aforementioned findings need to be verified by a large-scale prospective cohort study to further clarify the underlying pathophysiological mechanism between the TyG index and stroke.