Triglycerides to High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio Is the Best Surrogate Marker for Insulin Resistance in Nonobese Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: Insulin resistance (IR) is closely associated with metabolic profiles, including obesity and dyslipidemia. The aim of the present study was to examine how lipid profiles were associated with IR in nonobese middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 1608 subjects. IR was defined by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) of at least 2.5. RESULTS: In nonobese subjects (body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m(2), n = 996), triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (odds ratio (OR) = 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13–1.81, P=0.003) was an independent risk factor for IR. The best marker for predicting IR in nonobese subjects was TG/HDL-C ratio with the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of 0.73 (P < 0.001). The optimal cut-off point to identifying IR for TG/HDL-C ratio was ≥1.50 in the nonobese population. Other markers like BMI, TG, and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C also had acceptable discriminatory power for predicting IR in nonobese population (AUC ≥ 0.7 and P < 0.001). BMI had the highest AUC of 0.647 (P < 0.001) after being adjusted, but it was not effective enough to predict IR in obese subjects (BMI ≥ 25.0, n = 612). CONCLUSIONS: The TG/HDL-C ratio may be the best reliable marker for predicting IR in the nonobese middle-aged and elderly Chinese population.