Predicting the development of diabetes using the product of triglycerides and glucose: the Chungju Metabolic Disease Cohort (CMC) study

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 2; p. e90430
• Main Authors: Lee, Seung-Hwan, Kwon, Hyuk-Sang, Park, Yong-Moon, Ha, Hee-Sung, Jeong, Seung Hee, Yang, Hae Kyung, Lee, Jin-Hee, Yim, Hyeon-Woo, Kang, Moo-Il, Lee, Won-Chul, Son, Ho-Young, Yoon, Kun-Ho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 28-02-2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aged; Alcohol; Alcohol Drinking; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Atherosclerosis; Biology; Blood cholesterol; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Blood pressure; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Cholesterol; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - diagnosis; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Drinking behavior; Educational Status; Endocrinology; Family medical history; Fasting; Female; Genetics; Glucose; Glucose metabolism; Health care; Health risk assessment; Health risks; High density lipoprotein; Homeostasis; Hospitals; Humans; Insulin; Insulin resistance; Internal medicine; Lipoproteins; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Preventive medicine; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Public health; Quartiles; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Smoking; Triglycerides; Triglycerides - blood; Type 2 diabetes; Republic of Korea
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090430

To determine whether the TyG index, a product of the levels of triglycerides and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) might be a valuable marker for predicting future diabetes.
A total of 5,354 nondiabetic subjects who had completed their follow-up visit for evaluating diabetes status were selected from a large cohort of middle-aged Koreans in the Chungju Metabolic Disease Cohort study. The risk of diabetes was assessed according to the baseline TyG index, calculated as ln[fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × FPG (mg/dL)/2]. The median follow-up period was 4.6 years.
During the follow-up period, 420 subjects (7.8%) developed diabetes. The baseline values of the TyG index were significantly higher in these subjects compared with nondiabetic subjects (8.9 ± 0.6 vs. 8.6 ± 0.6; P<0.0001) and the incidence of diabetes increased in proportion to TyG index quartiles. After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level, a family history of diabetes, smoking, alcohol drinking, education level and serum insulin level, the risk of diabetes onset was more than fourfold higher in the highest vs. the lowest quartile of the TyG index (relative risk, 4.095; 95% CI, 2.701-6.207). The predictive power of the TyG index was better than the triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio or the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance.
The TyG index, a simple measure reflecting insulin resistance, might be useful in identifying individuals at high risk of developing diabetes.