The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) remains as the gold standard to diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); however, this test may be inconvenient and costly. Hence, other easy to perform and accurate diagnostic alternatives would be valuable for maternal care. The objective of the study was to assess the diagnostic performance of the TyG index to screen for GDM at 24-28 of pregnancy. A total of 140 pregnant women who received the one-step 2 h 75 g OGTT were included. Overall GDM prevalence was 27.1% according to IADSPG criteria. The mean TyG index value in the GDM group was significantly higher than the TyG index for the no GDM group (4.88 ± 0.70 versus 4.68 ± 0.19, p<.001). A sensitivity of 89% [95% CI 0.75-0.97] and a specificity of 50% [95% CI 0.39-0.60)], accompanied by a high negative predictive value of 93% was observed. No differences were found in maternal and neonatal outcomes irrespective of the TyG cutoff value for GDM. According to our results, the TyG index may be a highly sensitive and easy to perform screening test for GDM.
Keywords: TyG index; gestational diabetes; glucose; insulin resistance; screening; triglycerides.