The U-Shape Relationship between Triglyceride-Glucose Index and the Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy among the US Population

Yu Zhou; Qiong Lu; Min Zhang; Ling Yang; Xi Shen

doi:10.3390/jpm13030495

The U-Shape Relationship between Triglyceride-Glucose Index and the Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy among the US Population

J Pers Med. 2023 Mar 9;13(3):495. doi: 10.3390/jpm13030495.

Authors

Yu Zhou¹, Qiong Lu¹, Min Zhang¹, Ling Yang¹, Xi Shen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Ruijin Hospital, LuWan Branch, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200020, China.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200020, China.

Abstract

Objective: To explore the association of diabetic retinopathy (DR) with TyG index and TyG-related parameters among the United States population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study is conducted in adults with diabetes mellitus based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2018. Multivariate logistic regression, restricted cubic spline, trend test, receiver operating characteristic curve and subgroup analysis are adopted to uncover the association of DR with TyG index and TyG-related parameter levels in diabetics.

Results: An aggregate of 888 eligible participants with diabetes is included, involving 263 (29.6%) patients with DR. The participants are stratified according to the quartile of TyG index and TyG-related parameters (Q1-Q4). Following the adjustments of the confounding factors, a multivariate logistic regression analysis finds that TyG-BMI, TyG index and Q4-TyG index are significant risk factors for DR. The restricted cubic spline shows that TyG index and the DR risk of diabetes patients are proved to be U-shaped related (p for nonlinearity = 0.001).

Conclusions: The triglyceride-glucose index has a U-shaped correlation with the risk of diabetic retinopathy, which has potential predictive value.

Keywords: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; diabetes mellitus; diabetes retinopathy; triglyceride–glucose index.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (grant number 81970805); Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (grant number 202140183); Priority Speciality of Shanghai Huangpu District Commission Health and Family Planning Commission (grant number HWZFK201803).