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Independent and combined effects of triglyceride-glucose index on prehypertension risk: a cross-sectional survey in China

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 35, pages 207–214 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is considered a simple and feasible indicator of insulin resistance (IR). This study aims to delve into the association and interaction of TyG index on the risk of prehypertension in Chinese adults. A community based cross-sectional survey conducted in Chinese population. Eligible participants were recruited, and questionnaire survey, anthropometric tests, and blood samples collection were performed. TyG index was obtained as ln [fasting TG(mg/dl) × FPG(mg/dl)/2]. Logistic regression model and the area under the receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves (AUC) were analyzed. Interaction analysis was conducted by calculating relative excess risk for interaction (RERI), attributable proportion for interaction (AP) as well as synergy index (SI). A total of 3115 recruited participants (1307 males and 1808 females) were aged 60.82 years on average. The prevalence of prehypertension reached 36.4% on the whole, 37.6% in male and 35.5% in female, respectively. The results of multivariable logistic regression model suggested that the adjusted OR for prehypertension was upregulated across TyG index quartiles, up to 2.06 (95% CI:1.53–2.77) for quartiles 4 versus quartiles 1. Furthermore, TyG index outperformed FPG (Z = 2.15, p = 0.032) and TG (Z = 6.10, p < 0.001) in discriminating prehypertension risk. Besides, TyG index with abdominal obesity (RERI:1.53, 95% CI:0.39–2.67; AP: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16–0.59; SI:1.96, 95% CI:1.15–3.34) displayed a noticeable interaction on risk of prehypertension. Our study indicated that a higher TyG index rose the risk of prehypertension independently and synergistically with abdominal obesity in Chinese adults. Furthermore, it exhibited a higher predictability compared with conventional indices.

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Fig. 1: ROC curves of each variable for the prediction of prehypertension.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all professionals and participants of the study.

Funding

This survey was financed by the Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Fund Project of the Ministry of Education of China (No. 15YJAZH085), Outstanding Young Talent Key program of College and University in Anhui province (No. gxfxZD2016146), and Higher Education Revitalization Program Project in Anhui province (2016SZZ gjh3-12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China

    Hong Xie & Yehuan Sun

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China

    Hong Xie & Jian Song

  3. School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China

    Liangliang Sun & Xinxin Xie

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Correspondence to Yehuan Sun.

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Xie, H., Song, J., Sun, L. et al. Independent and combined effects of triglyceride-glucose index on prehypertension risk: a cross-sectional survey in China. J Hum Hypertens 35, 207–214 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-020-0321-9

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