The triglyceride-glucose index positively associates with the prevalence and severity of coronary heart disease in patients among hypertension.

Abstract

Insulin resistance (IR) links hypertension (HTN) and coronary heart disease (CHD). This study investigated the link between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a marker for detecting IR, and the prevalence and severity of CHD in patients with HTN. Limited evidence exists on this relationship. This cross-sectional study included 1,432 hospitalized patients with HTN who underwent coronary angiography between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023. The study cohort was predominantly male, with a median age of 65 years. Common comorbidities included type 2 diabetes mellitus, smoking history, and alcohol consumption. Patients were excluded if they lacked complete clinical data, had a history of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or other severe heart diseases, or had malignant tumors, acute or chronic infections, severe cerebrovascular disease, end-stage renal disease, or severe hepatic dysfunction. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between the TyG index and the prevalence of CHD. The TyG index was categorized into tertiles and also treated as a continuous variable in the analysis. Among HTN-CHD groups, the relationship between the Gensini score (GS), an indicator of CHD severity, and the TyG index was assessed using multivariate linear regression analysis. After adjusting for confounding variables, multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that compared to tertile 1 of the TyG index, the odds ratio for the prevalence of CHD in patients with TyG index in tertile 2 was 2.01 (95% CI, 1.47-2.73; p < 0.001), and in tertile 3 was 3.86 (95% CI, 2.71-5.50; p < 0.001). Additionally, a raised positive correlation was shown by multivariate linear regression analysis between the GS and the TyG index. In the HTN-CHD group, each 1-unit increase in the TyG index was associated with a 16.777 increase in the GS (β = 16.777; 95% CI, 13.81-19.74; p < 0.001).