Associations of the TyG index with albuminuria and chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes

by Xiaonan Li, Yuehui Wang

Diabetes-related kidney disease reduces patients’ quality of life, increases the risk of death, and is associated with insulin resistance (IR). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a simple and inexpensive alternative to IR measurement. Furthermore, the relationship between albuminuria and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association of TyG index with albuminuria and CKD in patients with T2DM.

Data from 01/2013-12/2017 period were obtained from the Population Health Data Archive’s Diabetes Complications Data Set. A total of 1048 patients with T2DM were included in this study. CKD is defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min^-1.1.73 m^-2 or a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) ≥ 30 mg/g. Albuminuria is defined as a UACR ≥ 30 mg/g. The TyG index is calculated by measuring the triglyceride and fasting blood glucose levels. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between albuminuria, CKD with T2DM and TyG index.

We identified 1048 subjects, 63.03% of whom were men. The mean age was 46.21 years, and the mean body mass index was 26.742 kg/m². CKD and albuminuria detection rates showed an increasing trend in the different TyG subgroups. (p = 0.008, p = 0.006). Using the Q1 group as a baseline, the risk of albuminuria and CKD was significantly greater in the group Q3 (OR = 1.514, 95% CI 1.121–2.047 P = 0.05), and the same result was obtained after adjusting for covariates (OR = 2.241, 95% CI 1.245–4.034, P = 0.007). Subgroup analyses revealed a significant increase in the incidence of albuminuria and CKD in the group Q3 compared to that in the Q1 group.

The TyG index is positively associated with albuminuria and CKD in patients with T2DM and may be a marker for predicting the occurrence of early kidney injury in patients with T2DM. Clinicians should test this indicator early to detect lesions and improve patient prognosis.