The triglyceride glucose index as a biomarker for different glucose disorders in overweight and obese children and adolescents
Ola Taha, Lubna Abdallah, Adel Ali Erfan, Radwa Mahmoud Elsharaby, Doaa El Amrousy
Abstract
The triglyceride/glucose index (TyG index), a formula derived from fasting triglyceride (TG) and glucose levels, has emerged as a simple and reliable alternative marker for estimating insulin resistance (IR). This study aimed to evaluate the potential utility of the TyG index in predicting different glucose disorders (GD) in obese and overweight children. This prospective study included 60 children aged 5 to 15 years with overweight or obesity. They were divided into two equal groups: Group 1 consisted of children with obesity (BMI > 95th percentile), and Group 2 comprised overweight children (BMI 85th-95th percentile). The control group consisted of 30 healthy children with normal BMI, matched for age and sex. TG, fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test, 2-h postprandial glucose, the TyG index, homeostatic model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured in all participating children. TG, HbA1c, FBG, and the TyG index were significantly elevated in both groups 1 and 2 compared with the control group. There was a strong positive correlation between TyG index and (HbA1C, FBG, HOMA IR, and 2-h postprandial glucose). The TyG index demonstrated a strong predictive ability for type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose, and IR with cut-off values of 4.57, 4.52, 4.43, and 4.34, respectively. These cut-off values were associated with sensitivities of 100%, 100%, 88.9%, and 71.4%, and specificities of 95.3%, 95.1%, 88.3%, and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The TyG index is a promising and reliable marker for detecting different glucose disorders in obese and overweight children. WHAT IS KNOWN: • The triglyceride/glucose index (TyG index), a formula derived from fasting triglyceride (TG) and glucose levels, has emerged as a simple and reliable alternative marker for estimating insulin resistance (IR) in pediatrics and adults. WHAT IS NEW: • We investigated, for the first time, the potential utility of the TyG index in predicting different glucose disorders (GD) such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), impaired glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose as well as IR in obese and overweight children. • We found that the TyG index is a promising and reliable marker for detecting different glucose disorders in obese and overweight children.