Correlation Between the Triglyceride–Glucose Index and High Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Cohort Study of 102,061 Subjects from Tianjin, China

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the correlation between triglyceride–glucose index (TyG) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: A total of 102,061 permanent residents of Tianjin, China, aged 35–75 years were surveyed. A questionnaire, physical examination, and blood tests for biochemical markers were conducted for all subjects. The risk of CVD was judged based on the results, identifying the population with a high risk of CVD. TyG was calculated for all subjects who were then grouped into TyG quartiles. The correlation between TyG and the detection rate of subjects with a high risk of CVD was analyzed using the chi-square test and Pearson’s correlation analysis. The cut-off points and the magnitude of the predictive effect of TyG in determining a high risk of CVD were identified by calculating the TyG through analysis of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The surveyed population consisted of 39,598 males (38.8%) and 62,463 females (61.2%). The average age was 55.84 ± 10.27 years. A statistically significant difference in the incidence of a high CVD risk between subjects in the four groups divided by the TyG levels was identified (p < 0.01). Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that TyG was correlated with all risk factors for CVD (p < 0.01). The maximum Youden’s J statistic for determining the high risk of CVD was found at a TyG of 9.04 (specificity 0.575, sensitivity 0.754). The area under the ROC curve was 0.780 (confidence interval [CI]: 0.777, 0.783, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: TyG index is closely related to the aggregation of cardiovascular risk factors and is correlated with the judgment results of the screening population’s high risk of CVD, suggesting that more attention should be paid to the identification and control of multiple risk factors in the population with significantly elevated TyG.