Association between triglyceride-glucose index and gastric carcinogenesis: a health checkup cohort study

Background: We aimed to investigate the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and gastric carcinogenesis, including precancerous conditions such as dysplasia, atrophic gastritis, and intestinal metaplasia.

Methods: Patients who received an upper endoscopic assessment at a medical center were included. The enrolled patients were divided into four categories according to their TyG index quartile (Q). To evaluate the relationship between increase of TyG index and gastric cancer, we analyzed the patients who received a health checkup twice. Moreover, receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was used to establish cut-off value of the TyG index for gastric cancer.

Results: Of 127,564 enrolled patients, 43,525 (34.1%) and 186 (0.1%) were diagnosed with precancerous conditions and gastric cancer, respectively. The odds ratios (ORs) of precancerous conditions given TyG index progressively increased across quartiles: using Q1 as the reference: Q2 (OR = 1.403, P < 0.001), Q3 (OR = 1.646, P < 0.001), and Q4 (OR = 1.656, P < 0.001). The ORs of gastric cancer also increased according to the quartiles: Q2 (OR = 1.619, P = 0.045), Q3 (OR = 2.180, P = 0.004), and Q4 (OR = 2.363, P = 0.001). Moreover, the increase in TyG index between baseline and follow-up tests was more significant in gastric cancer group than in control group (P = 0.001). The optimal cut-off value for predicting gastric cancer was 9.73.

Conclusions: The TyG index may be a novel predictive biomarker for gastric carcinogenesis. Notably, increase in the TyG index is significantly associated with gastric cancer.