The triglycerides and glucose index is associated with cardiovascular risk factors in normal-weight children and adolescents

BACKGROUND: Given the usefulness of the product of triglycerides and glucose (TyG) to recognize individuals at high risk for developing cardiovascular events, the aim of this study was to determine whether the TyG index is associated with the presence of cardiovascular risk factors in apparently healthy normal-weight children and adolescents. METHODS: Apparently healthy children and adolescents with normal weight, aged 6-15 years, were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional study. The children were allocated into groups with and without cardiovascular risk factors. Cardiovascular risk factors were considered as the occurrence of at least one of the following: elevated blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or hyperglycemia. RESULTS: A total of 2,117 children and adolescents were enrolled in the study; of them, 1,078 (50.9%) participants exhibited cardiovascular risk. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that elevated TyG index was significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio (OR) = 96.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 48.44-192.04), low HDL-C (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.46-2.92), and hyperglycemia (OR = 3.11, 95% CI: 2.05-4.72), but not with elevated blood pressure (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 0.89-2.16). CONCLUSION: The elevated TyG index is associated with the presence of cardiovascular risk factors in healthy normal-weight children and adolescents.