Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug 24:16:2561-2571.
doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S418358. eCollection 2023.

Triglyceride-Glucose Index is Related to Carotid Artery Plaque in Railway Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Jia Pan #  1 , Bo Yang #  1 , Zihang Wang  2 , Lei Tang  1 , Peng Jia  3   4 , Shujuan Yang  1   2   4 , Honglian Zeng  1
Affiliations

Triglyceride-Glucose Index is Related to Carotid Artery Plaque in Railway Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Jia Pan et al. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. .

Abstract

Aim: China has the highest rail transportation density in the world. Compared to other occupational populations, railway workers in China face increased risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and carotid artery plaque (CAP) in a population of railway workers in southwest China.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among 3169 railway workers who were categorized into four groups based on TyG index quartiles. The presence of CAP was assessed using carotid Doppler ultrasound. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to estimate the association between TyG index and CAP, and subgroup analyses were performed based on age, blood pressure, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), smoking, drinking, and physical activity.

Results: Participants with higher TyG index quartiles had a higher prevalence of CAP, with 11.63%, 14.11%, 20.20%, and 18.56% from the first to fourth quartile, respectively. The multi-adjusted logistic regression models showed a positive association between TyG index and the risk of CAP (odds ratio [OR]: 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-1.41) when treated as a continuous variable. When analyzed as a categorical variable with increasing TyG index tertiles, the risk of CAP substantially increased with ORs (95% CIs) of 1.22 (0.90-1.65) for the second quartile, 1.70 (1.27-2.28) for the third quartile, and 1.46 (1.08-1.98) for the fourth quartile compared to the lowest quartile. Restricted cubic spline revealed that the association gradually strengthened with the increase of the TyG index below 9.56.

Conclusion: TyG index was significantly associated with CAP, notably in populations with elevated quartiles of TyG index among railway workers. Monitoring the TyG index could be a useful risk management strategy for CAP in occupation population.

Keywords: MAFLD; TyG index; carotid artery plaque; insulin resistance; occupational population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the participants’ recruitment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Multivariate-adjusted association of the TyG index and CAP based on restricted cubic splines. The OR was decreased at the TyG of 9.64; ORs were adjusted for age, SBP, DBP, MAFLD, physical activity, smoking, drinking, salt intake, dietary pattern; the Grey shadow represents 95% CI confidence interval.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ROC curves for different models in predicting CAP detection. Model 1: adjusted for age, SBP, DBP. Model 2: adjusted for age, SBP, DBP, BMI. Model 3: adjusted for age, SBP, DBP, BMI, physical activity, smoking, drinking, salt intake, dietary pattern.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jiang Y, Wu C, Hu T, et al. Association for combined exposure to job strain, shift work on mental health among Chinese railway workers: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2020;10(10):e037544. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037544 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dong C, Zeng H, Yang B, Zhang Y, Li Z. The association between long-term night shift work and metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study of male railway workers in southwest China. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2022;22(1):263. doi: 10.1186/s12872-022-02705-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nguyen-Thanh HT, Benzaquen BS. Screening for subclinical coronary artery disease measuring carotid intima media thickness. Am J Cardiol. 2009;104(10):1383–1388. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2009.07.005 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kozakova M, Natali A, Dekker J, et al. Insulin sensitivity and carotid intima-media thickness: relationship between insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular risk study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2013;33(6):1409–1417. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.112.300948 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pané A, Conget I, Boswell L, et al. Insulin resistance is associated with preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Metab Res Rev;2020. e3323. doi: 10.1002/dmrr.3323 - DOI - PubMed