The Triglyceride-Glucose Index Predicts Peripheral Artery Disease Complexity

Objective: High levels of triglyceride (TG) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) values increase atherosclerosis risk. This study evaluates the relationship between peripheral artery disease (PAD) severity and complexity, as assessed by TransAtlantic InterSociety Consensus-II (TASC-II) classification and the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index.

Methods: A total of 71 consecutive patients with PAD (males 93%, mean age 63.3±9.7), who underwent percutaneous peripheral intervention were included retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to the angiographically detected lesions. Those with TASC A-B lesions were included in Group 1, and those with TASC C-D lesions were included in Group 2. TyG index was calculated as formula: ln[fasting TG (mg/dL) × fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)/2].

Results: There were 40 patients in Group 1 (90.3% men, with a mean age of 63.6±9.3 years) and 31 patients in Group 2 (96.8% men, with a mean age of 62.0±8.6 years). In the majority of patients in both groups, the target vessels are iliac arteries and femoral arteries. In Group 2, platelet count and TyG index were significantly high, according to Group 1. The TyG index was significantly correlated with TASC-II, Rutherford category, HbA1c, and HDL-C.

Conclusion: In this present study, we showed that the TyG index was an independent predictor of peripheral artery disease complexity, according to TASC-II classification, for the first time in the literature.

Keywords: Peripheral arterial disease; TASC-II classification; atherogenic index; glucose; triglyceride.