Association between triglyceride-glucose index and branch retinal vein occlusion: linking metabolic risk to ocular vascular disease

BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), and to evaluate its diagnostic performance. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 49 patients with newly diagnosed BRVO and 50 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, and venous blood samples were collected after overnight fasting. Fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein(HDL), and low-density lipoprotein(LDL) levels were measured. The TyG index was calculated as ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between TyG index and BRVO, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: The mean age was 64.8 ± 11.2 years in the BRVO group and 66.7 ± 11.5 years in controls (p = 0.396). No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, HDL, or fasting glucose between groups. Patients with BRVO had significantly higher total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and TyG index(p = 0.017, p = 0.004, p = 0.016, and p = 0.025, respectively). Logistic regression identified TyG as an independent risk factor for BRVO(odds ratio: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.08–4.73; p = 0.029). ROC analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0.631, with an optimal cutoff of 8.62 (72% sensitivity, 60% specificity). CONCLUSIONS: The TyG index is independently associated with BRVO and may serve as a simple, inexpensive biomarker for identifying individuals at increased risk, particularly those with concomitant cardiometabolic risk factors.