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. 2023 Jan 20;15(3):555.
doi: 10.3390/nu15030555.

Triglyceride-Glucose Index as a Potential Indicator of Sarcopenic Obesity in Older People

Bokun Kim  1   2 , Gwonmin Kim  3 , Yongkook Lee  4 , Keisuke Taniguchi  5 , Tomonori Isobe  6 , Sechang Oh  7
Affiliations

Triglyceride-Glucose Index as a Potential Indicator of Sarcopenic Obesity in Older People

Bokun Kim et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Purpose: This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index) is associated with sarcopenic obesity (SO) and whether it would be a helpful indicator of SO.

Methods: A total of 3821 participants aged ≥ 60 years were selected for the study group, and 4919 participants aged 20-39 years were included as a reference group. The participants were allocated to sarcopenia, obesity, and SO groups depending on if their body mass index (BMI) was ≥25 kg/m2 and their sarcopenia index was ≤1 standard deviation (SD) lower than the mean of the reference group. The sex-specific differences and trends among the participants were analyzed by using the TyG index tertiles, and appropriate cut-off values of the TyG index for SO were calculated.

Results: As the TyG index increased, BMI increased, but the sarcopenia index decreased in both sexes. Males and females in the middle and highest tertiles of the TyG index were 1.775 and 3.369, and they were 1.993 and 3.157 times more likely to have SO, respectively. The cut-off values of the TyG index for SO in males and females were ≥8.72 and 8.67, respectively.

Conclusion: A high TyG index is positively associated with SO, and the TyG index may be considered a potential indicator of SO.

Keywords: TyG index; insulin resistance; obesity; older population; sarcopenia; sarcopenic obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of participant enrollment. Abbreviations: KNHANES, Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey; DXA, Dual X-ray Absorptiometry.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sex-specific ORs for the relationship of the TyG index with obesity, sarcopenia, and sarcopenic obesity for males (A) and females (B). Dotted line: reference; solid line: 95% confidence interval (CI); white or black triangles, rectangles, and circles: ORs. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 for the ORs for obesity, sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity, compared with the lowest tertile. The potential confounders: age, educational level, household income, medication, smoking, alcohol consumption, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, nutrition, and medical history. Abbreviations: HT, highest tertile; MT, middle tertile; OR, odds ratio; TyG index, triglyceride–glucose index.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sex-specific ROC curves pertaining to the TyG index for the sarcopenic obesity group. Dotted blue line: reference; solid red line: AUC, indicative of the accuracy of the use of the TyG index for the identification of sarcopenic obesity; cut-off value: the value of the TyG index that predicts sarcopenic obesity; sensitivity: the probability of individuals who actually have sarcopenic obesity being identified as having sarcopenic obesity; specificity: the probability of individuals who do not have sarcopenic obesity being identified as not having sarcopenic obesity. Abbreviations: AUC, the area under the curve; ROC, receiver operating characteristic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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