Triglyceride glucose index is a risk factor for heart failure: A prospective cohort study

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure (HF).

A total of 1274 patients with HF diagnosed at Hebei General Hospital were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into four groups by quartiles based on the TyG index. The endpoint was all-cause mortality during the follow-up period. The median follow-up period was 1079 days, with a total of 543 (42.7%) patients experiencing all-cause mortality. The survival curves showed no significant difference in endpoint events among the four groups (log-rank P = 0.329). The adjusted survival curves revealed that after adjusting for the variables in Model 3, the group with a higher TyG index exhibited a higher risk of death (log-rank P < 0.001). The multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models revealed a positive correlation between the TyG index and all-cause mortality. After complete adjustment, patients with the highest TyG index exhibited a higher risk of all-cause mortality than those in the lowest quartile [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22-2.09; P = 0.001]. Restricted cubic spline analysis showed that the risk of all-cause mortality increased linearly with the TyG index (P for non-linear = 0.207). Exploratory subgroup analyses revealed that, as a continuous variable, the TyG index was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in female patients (HR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.08-1.58, P = 0.029) and older patients (HR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.1-1.43, P = 0.027).

The TyG index was positively associated with increased all-cause mortality in hospitalized patients with HF. Subgroup analyses indicated that the TyG index was strongly associated with all-cause mortality in older and female patients.