The relationship between triglyceride-glucose index and albuminuria in United States adults

PURPOSE: Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a simple and reliable indicator of metabolic dysfunction. We aimed to investigate a possible relationship between TyG index and albuminuria in the United States adult population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among adults with complete TyG index and urinary albumin/urinary creatinine (UACR) from 2011-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The independent relationship between TyG index and albuminuria (UACR>30mg/g) was evaluated. TyG index was compared with insulin resistance represented by homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and metabolic syndrome. Subgroup analysis was also performed. RESULTS: A total of 9872 participants were included in this study, and the average TyG index was 8.53 ± 0.01. The proportion of albuminuria gradually increased with the increase of TyG index quartile interval. Elevated TyG index was independently associated with albuminuria, and this association persisted after additional adjustments for HOMA-IR or dichotomous metabolic syndrome. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of TyG index was larger than that of log (HOMA-IR). Subgroup analysis suggested that the relationship between TyG index and albuminuria is of greater concern in age<60, overweight/obese, diabetic, and metabolic syndrome patients. CONCLUSION: The TyG index may be a potential epidemiological tool to quantify the role of metabolic dysfunction, rather than just insulin resistance, in albuminuria in the United States adult population. Further large-scale prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.