The triglyceride glucose index predicts short-term mortality in non-diabetic patients with acute heart failure

The triglyceride glucose index (TyG) has previously been considered a reliable indicator of insulin resistance (IR) and an independent prognostic predictor in heart failure (HF).

To clarify the association between the TyG and short-term death in non-diabetic patients admitted for acute heart failure (AHF).

We examined 886 out of 1620 consecutive AHF patients who were admitted to Shunde Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, China, from June 1, 2014, to June 1, 2022. The median of the patientsf TyG values was used to divide them into 2 groups. The following formula was used to calculate the TyG: ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) ~ fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2]. The data on all-cause mortality of AHF patients during their hospital stay were collected. The 30-day Enhanced Feedback for Effective Cardiac Treatment (EFFECT) death risk score was used to assess the risk of death.

The TyG level was positively correlated with a poor AHF prognostic marker (N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)) (Ď = 0.207, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with a protective marker (serum albumin) (Ď = .0.43, p < 0.001). Higher TyG values were associated with an elevated EFFECT score and hospital mortality (p < 0.001). According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, higher TyG levels raised the risk of death in hospital (odds ratio (OR) = 1.73; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.03.3.27; p = 0.031) after adjusting for multiple variables, including age, EFFECT score and NT-proBNP. The TyG had a greater area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC: 0.688) for predicting hospital death compared to NT-proBNP (AUC: 0.506).

Our findings show that the TyG is associated with the short-term mortality rate of non-diabetic patients admitted to the hospital for AHF. The TyG testing could be a useful prognostic indicator for these patients.