Association of Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) index and carotid intima-media thickness in early adulthood: Tehran lipid and glucose study

Amirhosein Seyedhoseinpour; Maryam Barzin; Maryam Mahdavi; Majid Valizadeh; Fereidoun Azizi; Sahar Ghareh; Farhad Hosseinpanah

doi:10.1007/s40200-026-01867-x

Association of Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) index and carotid intima-media thickness in early adulthood: Tehran lipid and glucose study

J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2026 Feb 21;25(1):71. doi: 10.1007/s40200-026-01867-x. eCollection 2026 Jun.

Authors

Amirhosein Seyedhoseinpour¹, Maryam Barzin¹, Maryam Mahdavi¹, Majid Valizadeh¹, Fereidoun Azizi², Sahar Ghareh³, Farhad Hosseinpanah¹

Affiliations

¹ Obesity Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Tehran Branch, Faculty of Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

PMID: 41732499
PMCID: PMC12924794 (available on 2027-02-21)
DOI: 10.1007/s40200-026-01867-x

Abstract

Background: The association of the Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index as a novel surrogate marker of IR with atherosclerotic CVD has been suggested previously. However, there is limited data available for young adults. We aimed to define the association of the TyG Index and the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in the Tehran, Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1339 participants aged ≥ 18 were categorized into three tertiles based on the TyG Index. The totel effect of TyG Index tertiles on CIMT and high CIMT were investigated in multiple linear regression and logistic regression models, respectively.

Results: The mean age of 1339 participants enrolled in the study was 29.77 ± 4.0 years (52% men). The participants were categorized into three tertiles based on the TyG Index. The odds ratio (OR) for the association of TyG Index tertiles with high CIMT was significant in tertile 3 in reference to tertile one after adjustment to age and sex (model 1; OR = 1.73, P = 0.013), which remains significant after further adjustments to smoking, educational status, and physical activity (model 2; OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.10-2.64, P = 0.017).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that the TyG index exhibits a modest overall relationship with higher CIMT levels. These results highlight the potential role of the TyG index as an independent novel variable linked to early atherosclerosis in young adults.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Carotid intima-media thickness; Insulin resistance; Subclinical atherosclerosis; Triglyceride-glucose index.

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