Association between triglyceride-glucose index and risk of arterial stiffness: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index, a simple surrogate marker of insulin resistance, has been reported to be associated with arterial stiffness. However, previous studies were limited by the cross-sectional design. The purpose of this study was to explore the longitudinal association between TyG index and progression of arterial stiffness. METHODS: A total of 6028 participants were derived from the Kailuan study. TyG index was calculated as ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Arterial stiffness was measured using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Arterial stiffness progression was assessed by the annual growth rate of repeatedly measured baPWV. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate the cross-sectional association of TyG index with baPWV, and Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the longitudinal association between TyG index and the risk of arterial stiffness. RESULTS: Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that each one unit increase in the TyG index was associated with a 39 cm/s increment (95%CI, 29–48 cm/s, P < 0.001) in baseline baPWV and a 0.29 percent/year increment (95%CI, 0.17–0.42 percent/year, P < 0.001) in the annual growth rate of baPWV. During 26,839 person-years of follow-up, there were 883 incident cases with arterial stiffness. Participants in the highest quartile of TyG index had a 58% higher risk of arterial stiffness (HR, 1.58; 95%CI, 1.25–2.01, P < 0.001), as compared with those in the lowest quartile of TyG index. Additionally, restricted cubic spline analysis showed a significant dose–response relationship between TyG index and the risk of arterial stiffness (P non-linearity = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Participants with a higher TyG index were more likely to have a higher risk of arterial stiffness. Subjects with a higher TyG index should be aware of the following risk of arterial stiffness progression, so as to establish lifestyle changes at an early stage. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-021-01342-2.