A population-based study of TyG index distribution and its relationship to cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents

The purpose of this study was to present age- and sex-specific distributions of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and to evaluate their relationship with cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents. A total of 7404 participants aged 10-18 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey were included as the reference population. The TyG index was calculated as ln(fasting triglyceride [mg/dL] x fasting glucose [mg/dL]/2). The percentile of the TyG index exhibited a steady linear relationship with age for both sexes. TyG index significantly correlated with waist circumference (WC) standard deviation score (SDS; r = 0.110, p < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (SBP; r = 0.104, p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP; r = 0.083, p < 0.001), glucose (r = 0.220, p < 0.001), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; r = - 0.325, p < 0.001), and triglycerides (TG; r = 0.926, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the TyG index was significantly associated with WC SDS (beta = 0.116, p < 0.001), SBP (beta = 2.009, p < 0.001), DBP (beta = 1.464, p < 0.001), glucose (beta = 3.376, p < 0.001), HDL-C (beta = - 6.431, p < 0.001), and TG (beta = 85.518, p < 0.001). Our results suggest that the TyG index has a steady linear distribution for sex and age in children and adolescents and constitutes an indicator for predicting metabolic disorders that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life.

Automated summary

The study presents age- and sex-specific distributions of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index in children and adolescents, showing its correlation with cardiometabolic risk factors. The TyG index is found to be associated with various metabolic health indicators, suggesting its potential as an indicator for predicting future cardiovascular disease in young individuals.