The fasting triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index is more suitable for the identification of metabolically unhealthy individuals of Chinese adult population: a nationwide study.

AIMS: Metabolic unhealth can be defined by the components of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is closely connected to insulin resistance (IR). We aim to determine a simple index to identify the metabolic unhealth of the Chinese adult population.

METHODS: A total of 30,291 individuals were screened from the China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study conducted from June 2007 to May 2008. Metabolic unhealth was defined using components of MetS, except waist circumference (WC). We compared the three surrogate indices of IR: TyG (the product of fasting triglycerides and glucose), TG/HDL (triglycerides divided by high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and METS-IR (metabolic score for IR) for the evaluation of metabolic status.

RESULTS: All indices had high sensitivity and specificity for the identification of metabolic unhealth, especially the TyG index with an area under the curve of 0.863 for men and 0.867 for women. Subjects were divided into subgroups to further analysis. The TyG index also showed high diagnostic values, especially for younger individuals and men with normal WC. Sex-specific cutoffs for three indices were also used to define metabolic unhealth. The TyG index showed the highest agreement with κ values of 0.603 and 0.605 for men and women between the components of MetS and three indices.

CONCLUSION: We propose that the TyG index, just read in one blood laboratory test report, is simpler and more suitable for the identification of metabolically unhealthy individuals as well as who have high risk of cardiometabolic diseases of the Chinese adult population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.