New biological ratio effectively predicts cardiovascular risk

Announcing a new article publication in BIO Integration. Insulin resistance (IR) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is recognized as a convenient marker for IR, while the estimated glomerular filtration rate based on both creatinine and cystatin C (eGFRcr-cys) is commonly used to evaluate kidney function. Therefore, the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio is introduced with the aim of obtaining a more effective predictor for CVD risk.

This prospective cohort analysis included 261,865 UK Biobank participants with available information. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the associations of TyG, eGFRcr-cys, and the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio with incident CVD. Restricted cubic splines for model fitting with three knots placed at the 10^th, 50^th, 90^th percentiles were used to determine the non-linear relationship between the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio and CVD. Furthermore, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to illustrate the disparate associations across diverse groups and to reinforce the conclusions drawn, respectively. An independent single-center clinical cohort was assembled from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University for external validation by enrolling consecutive patients between 2018 and 2020 with baseline TyG index and eGFRcr-cys measurements and up to 4 years of follow-up. External validation with major adverse cardiovascular events was further performed as the outcome and observed consistent dose-response associations and robust risk stratification for the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio.

Following extensive covariate adjustment, the hazard ratios [HRs] (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for total CVD across increasing quartiles of the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio, with the lowest quartile (Q1) as the reference, were 1.15 (1.10-1.21) for Q2 versus Q1, 1.17 (1.12-1.23) for Q3 versus Q1, and 1.24 (1.18-1.30) for Q4 versus Q1, respectively, for the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio. In addition, each standard deviation increase in the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio was associated with a higher risk of CVD, coronary heart disease, and stroke, corresponding to estimated increases of 249% [HR, 3.49; 95% CI, 2.94-4.15], 250% [HR, 3.50; 95% CI, 2.92-4.20], and 165% [HR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.80-3.90], respectively, in the fully adjusted models. The non-linear relationship between the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio and CVD (P-value for the overall model < 0.001 and P-value for the non-linear model < 0.001) indicated that the CVD risk increased as the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio increased. Subgroup analysis results suggested that these associations were more pronounced in White individuals and females.

As the TyG:eGFRcr-cys ratio increased, the risk of CVD also increased with a higher likelihood in females and White individuals.