Association of triglyceride-glucose index with prognosis of COVID-19: A population-based study

Background: Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a simple and reliable surrogate marker for insulin re-sistance. Epidemiology studies have shown that insulin resistance is a risk factor for various infectious diseases. We evaluated the prognostic value of TyG index measured before the COVID-19 infection in COVID-19 infected patients. Methods: From a nationwide COVID-19 cohort dataset in Korea, we included COVID-19 patients diagnosed between Jan and Jun 2020. Based on the nationwide health screening data between 2015 and 2018, TyG index was calculated as ln [triglyceride (mg/dL) x fasting glucose level (mg/dL)/2]. Primary outcome is development of severe complications of COVID-19 defined as composite of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit care, high-flow oxygen therapy, and mortality within two months after the diagnosis of COVID-19.Results: This study included 3887 patients with COVID-19 confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Mean +/- standard deviation of TyG index was 8.54 +/- 0.61. Severe complications of COVID-19 were noted in 289 (7.4 4%) patients. In the multivariate logistic regression, TyG index was positively asso-ciated with severe complications of COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio: 1.42, 95% confidence interval [1.12-1.79]).Conclusions: In COVID-19 infected patients, high TyG index was associated with increased risk for severe complications. TyG index might be useful predictor for the severity of COVID-19 infection.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. CC_BY_NC_ND_4.0

Automated summary

The TyG index, a surrogate marker for insulin resistance, is associated with an increased risk of severe complications in COVID-19 infected patients.