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Published on: November 13, 2016
Triglyceride-glucose index and triglyceride-glucose index-related markers for identifying metabolic syndrome in Saudi
Rana Hasanato1, Nawaf Ahmed Alshehri2, Lama Fahad Binsalamh2
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11472, Saudi Arabia (Dr Hasanato).
Background:
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of increased waist circumference, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance, with a rising prevalence in Saudi Arabia. The triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) has gained popularity as a surrogate marker for insulin resistance.
Objective:
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the TyG index and TyG-related markers in identifying metabolic syndrome in Saudi nationals.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study included 645 Saudi nationals aged 18 to 65 years. The performance of the TyG index and TyG-related markers (TyG-body mass index [TyG-BMI], TyG-waist circumference [TyG-WC], and TyG-waist-to-height ratio [TyG-WHtR]) was evaluated for identifying metabolic syndrome.
Results:
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 18.6%. TyG index cutoff of 8.77 yielded 90.0% sensitivity, 80.0% specificity, and an area under the curve of 0.907 (95% CI: 0.88-0.93). Sex-specific analysis showed optimal cutoffs of 8.83 for males and 8.77 for females. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for the highest TyG quartile was 3.95 (95% CI: 1.55-10.1). Overall, TyG demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance. However, TyG-BMI and TyG-WHtR outperformed TyG in lean individuals, supporting the "personal fat threshold" hypothesis.
Conclusion:
Despite the cross-sectional, single-center design, these findings support the use of the TyG index as a practical screening tool for metabolic syndrome in Saudi nationals.
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