The Triglycerides and Glucose Index Is Associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Background

It has been reported that insulin resistance is related to cognitive decline. The triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index, is a reliable and inexpensive surrogate test for detecting insulin resistance.

Aims

The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between the TyG index and the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults.

Methods

A total of 135 individuals, men and women aged 60 to 90 years, were enrolled in a case and control study. Individuals with a diagnosis of MCI (n = 65) were allocated into the case group and compared with individuals without MCI (n = 70) in the control group. Alcohol intake, diabetes duration ≥5 years, diagnoses of cerebrovascular disease, brain injury, folic acid deficiency, dementia, moderate or severe CI, major depressive disorders, and thyroid disease were exclusion criteria.

Results

Individuals in the case group exhibited higher waist circumference (97.9 ± 13.9 versus 93.5 ± 13.0, p = .001) and TyG index (5.0 ± 0.3 versus 4.1 ± 0.2, p = .001) than individuals in the control group. The TyG index ≥4.68 (OR 6.91; 95% CI 2.05–11.68) and waist circumference (OR 1.03; 95% CI 1.01–1.06) were positively associated with MCI, while education level (OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.30–0.61), occupation (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.59–0.61), and exercise (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.22–0.52) were inversely associated with MCI. After controlling for sex, age, waist circumference, education level, occupation, and exercise, a TyG index ≥4.68 remained significantly associated with MCI (OR 2.97; 95% CI 1.12–14.71).

Conclusion

The TyG index is independently associated with the presence of MCI in older people.

KEYWORDS:

• Mild cognitive impairment
• TyG index
• aging

Contributorship

Yéssika Weyman-Vela and F. Guerrero-Romero equally contributed to the conception and design of the research; L. E. Simental-Mendía and C. I. Gamboa-Gómez contributed to the design of the research; A. Camacho-Luis and L.E. Simental-Mendía contributed to the interpretation of the data; and Yéssika Weyman-Vela and F. Guerrero-Romero drafted the manuscript. All authors critically revised the manuscript, agree to be fully accountable for ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the work, and read and approved the final manuscript.

Research Ethics Approval

All procedures performed in human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability

The data used to support the results of our study are shown within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Fundación IMSS FIS/IMSS/PROT/G17-21727).