Association of Triglyceride Glucose Index and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Female Health Colleges

Abstract Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is projected to be responsible for millions of deaths worldwide annually, including Saudi Arabia. CVD risk factors are highly prevalent, particularly among women in Saudi Arabia. Early awareness and treatment of cardiovascular signs before a CVD event occurs are therefore critical. Increased triglycerides and fasting glucose levels are two important risks for CVD, and the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index has been proved to predict CVD in many studies. Aim of Study: This study aims to examine the association of TyG-index and risk of cardiovascular disease in female health colleges to identify individuals at risk of developing CVD events. Methods: A total of 128 females from female health colleges in Riyadh participated in this cross-sectional study. Glucose and lipid profile parameters along with anthropometric and central obesity parameters were measured. The TyG index and the association between the TyG index and anthropometric and lipid profile parameters using the Spearman correlation coefficient were calculated. ROC analysis was used to detect long-term cardiovascular risk among women by using the TyG index against standard Framingham and ASVCVD risk scores. Results: This study identified that TyG-index was associ-ated with BMI and waist circumference, which are well-established anthropometric risk factors for CVD progression, along with total-cholesterol. A significant positive but weak association between TyG index and Framingham risk scores and lifetime ASCVD score was found. However, the TyG index may not be independently used to identify the people at risk of developing CVD as observed by the low area under the curves (AUC) scores using standard Framingham risk scores and ASCVD risk scores as gold standards. Conclusion: In conclusion, the positive correlation between TyG index and anthropometric indices and total cholesterol, which are known cardiovascular risks, suggests that the TyG index might be a useful indicator for early identification of CVD in conjunction with other established instruments, such as Farmington and lifetime ASCVD risk scores.