Elevated triglyceride-glucose index associated with heightened diabetes risk in young adults

Previous research depicted a positive link between the Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) index and the future risk of diabetes. However, this relationship has been less studied in non-obese young adults. 

The goal of a recent study was to explore the association between the TyG index and diabetes risk in non-obese young populations.

This was a retrospective cohort study involving 113,509 non-obese young adults from China and 9,549 from Japan, with an average age of 35.73 ± 6.38 years. Of the participants, 45.89% were males. The median follow-up period was 3.38 years. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to delineate the link between the baseline TyG index and the risk of diabetes. 

The findings revealed a non-linear relationship relationship between the TyG index and diabetes risk in non-obese young adults. The inflection point of the association was at 7.3. For TyG values above 7.3; the risk of diabetes increased significantly, while no significant trend was observed for values below this threshold. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses established the robustness of these findings.

The results highlighted a positive, non-linear association between the TyG index and diabetes risk in non-obese young adults. Hence, lowering triglycerides or fasting glucose levels to reduce the TyG index below 7.3 could significantly decrease the risk of diabetes in this population.

Source: Han J, Dai W, Chen L, et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024;15:1427207. doi:10.3389/fendo.2024.1427207