Abstract
BackgroundThe triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) is a reliable predictor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Its association with the severity of hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis in NAFLD is poorly understood. This study evaluated the relationship between these factors in NAFLD.MethodsA total of 4784 participants who underwent ultrasonography were enrolled. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were assessed. Participants with NAFLD were diagnosed by ultrasound. The degree of hepatic steatosis and liver stiffness was evaluated with transient elastography.ResultsThe TyG index was significantly correlated with the severity of hepatic steatosis and the presence of liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD. TyG quartile values correlated with increasing prevalence of NAFLD (Q1 30.9%, Q2 53.3%, Q3 71.7%, and Q4 86.4%, P < 0.001) and with the presence of liver fibrosis (Q1 13.5%, Q2 17.6%, Q3 18.8%, and Q4 26.1%, P < 0.001). The AUROC for the TyG index to predict NAFLD was 0.761, resulting in a cut-off value of 8.7. However, the AUC value of the TyG index was 0.589 for liver fibrosis, which was insufficient to predict this condition. The adjusted odds of having hepatic steatosis or liver fibrosis were more strongly associated with TyG values compared with HOMA-IR.ConclusionThe TyG index is positively related to the severity of hepatic steatosis and the presence of liver fibrosis in NAFLD. The index also performed better than HOMA-IR.
Highlights
The triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) is a reliable predictor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
The TyG index, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) values were higher in participants with NAFLD
The TyG index was associated with hepatic steatosis Participants in the NAFLD group were further divided into three groups according to the fat attenuation parameter (FAP) value: the mild NAFLD group (n = 1043), the moderate group (n = 799) and the severe NAFLD group (n = 1060)
Summary
The triglyceride-glucose index (TyG) is a reliable predictor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Its association with the severity of hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis in NAFLD is poorly understood. The TyG index has been considered a reliable biomarker for predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome (MS) [12, 13]. One cross-sectional and the other prospective, have both shown that the TyG index is a predictor of incident NAFLD, and both concluded that it may be a good diagnostic tool for NAFLD [16, 17]. Little is known about the link between the TyG index and liver fibrosis or the severity of hepatic steatosis in NAFLD. Whether the TyG index is able to detect liver fibrosis risk in NAFLD has not been investigated
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