High Triglyceride Glycemic Levels Linked to Gout Risk
Investigators found every unit increase in triglyceride glycemic index was associated with a 40 percent increased risk of gout.
By Victoria Johnson | Published on September 5, 2024
5 min read
Credit: Unsplash / Towfiqu barbhuiya
Incidence of gout may be more likely in adults with higher triglyceride glycemic (TyG) index, according to findings from a United States-based study.
According to the investigators, this is among the first studies to assess a link between TyG index and gout based on data from the annual, wide-scale National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
“It adds strong evidence regarding the positive association between the TyG index and gout,” investigators confirmed.
The investigators conducted a cross-sectional study of adults with complete TyG index and gout data available from NHANES from 2007 to 2017. TyG index was calculated by multiplying fasting triglycerides (mg/dl) by fasting glucose (mg/dl)/2 and gout was assessed by a self-report questionnaire (MCQ160n).
There were 11,768 participants included in the analysis. Around half (n = 5910) were women, 73.3 percent were between 18 and 60 years old, 69.6 percent were white, and 5.1 percenthad gout. Investigators found that, after adjusting for all covariates, TyG index was positively associated with gout, with each unit increase in TyG index associated with 40 percent higher odds of gout.
Accordingly, participants in the highest TyG index tertile group were at high risk of gout compared with those in the lowest tertile group. Investigators found no significant effects of age, race, marital status, PIR level, education, BMI, smoking status, drinking status, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus status on the association between TyG index and gout.
“These results underscore that the treatment and management of IR may prevent or improve the occurrence and development of gout, and the TyG index may be a predictive tool for gout. Further, longitudinal studies are needed to examine the causal association between the TyG index and gout in the broader population to elucidate the potential mechanism of IR on gout,” investigators concluded.
An original version of this article was published on sister site HCPLive.
