Bibliometric analysis and visualization of the triglyceride-glucose index from 2014 to 2024

The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index uses fasting triglycerides and glucose, offering a reliable, cost-effective alternative to traditional insulin resistance methods, especially in resource-limited settings, supported by extensive validation studies. Recent research trends indicate that the TyG index has received widespread attention and rapid development, especially in the cardiovascular field; however, no bibliometric analysis of the TyG index has been performed. We applied bibliometrics to examine research on the TyG index.

We searched the Web of Science Core Collection database for studies on the TyG index from January 1, 2014, to July 31, 2024. Bibliometric analyses were conducted using VOSviewer, the R package "Bibliometrix," and CiteSpace.

We included 652 TyG index-related studies, and the number of publications showed an overall upward trend. The United States of America and China had the highest number of publications. Studies published in the United States of America received the most citations, and China had the most extensive international cooperation. The University of Melbourne was the leading institution in publications; although interagency cooperation occurred, it was mostly within the country. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health was the most popular journal, and Diabetes Care was the most co-cited journal. Among the 4114 authors, Li and Zhang had the highest publication counts, and Alberti Kgmm was extensively co-cited. A study by Matthews et al (1985) was the most frequently cited article, while a study by Pillinger et al (2020) had the highest "Strength." "Metabolic syndrome" (101, 17%), "obesity" (14%), and "insulin resistance" (9%) were the most commonly used keywords. Public data mining to investigate the disease network of the TyG index may be a popular clinical research direction.

This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the history and development of TyG index research spanning about 10 years. Based on data analysis, it has been found that the clinical application of the TyG index, particularly how to use this index to improve patient management and prognosis, may serve as a future development focus.