The triglycerides and glucose index is strongly associated with hepatic steatosis in children with overweight or obesity

European Journal of Pediatrics (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Given the worldwide increase prevalence of overweight, obesity, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the objective of this study was to evaluate whether the triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index is associated with hepatic steatosis in children with overweight or obesity. Apparently healthy children aged 5‑17 years were included and allocated into the groups with and without hepatic steatosis. The TyG index was calculated as Ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)]/2. Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed by ultrasonography. A total of 177 children, 66 (37.3%) girls and 111 (62.7%) boys, were included in the study. According to the hepatic ultrasonography, they were allocated into the groups with (n = 100) and without (n = 77) hepatic steatosis. The adjusted analysis by gender, body mass index, and waist circumference revealed that HDL-C (OR 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93–0.99), triglycerides (OR 1.005; 95% CI: 1.001–1.009), AST (OR 1.03; 95% CI: 1.008–1.07), ALT (OR 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01–1.05), and TyG index (OR 4.07; 95% CI: 1.26–13.15) remained associated with hepatic steatosis.

Conclusion: Compared to other biochemical markers, the TyG index is highly associated with the presence of fatty liver in children with overweight and obesity.

What is known:
• The triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index is effective in predicting high risk for incident nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults.
What is new:
• Compared to other biochemical markers, the TyG index is highly associated with the presence of fatty liver in children with overweight or obesity.
• The triglycerides and glucose index may be a useful tool to detect children at high risk of fatty liver. 		 

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Abbreviations

NAFLD:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

TyG:

Triglycerides and glucose

BMI:

Body mass index

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

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Funding

This work was supported by the Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de Durango (grant number: FIS/IMSS/PROT/1761 and FIS/IMSS/PROT/1762) and Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (grant number: FIS/IMSS/PROT/G17-21727).

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Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Investigación Biomédica, Delegación Durango, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Durango, Mexico

    Luis E. Simental-Mendía, María Alejandra Sicsik-Aragón, Fernando Guerrero-Romero & Gerardo Martínez-Aguilar

  2. Hospital General de Zona No. 1, Delegación Durango, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Durango, Mexico

    César Javier Ortega-Pacheco & Elvira García-Guerrero

Authors
  1. Luis E. Simental-Mendía
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  2. César Javier Ortega-Pacheco
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  3. Elvira García-Guerrero
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  6. Gerardo Martínez-Aguilar
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Contributions

Luis E. Simental-Mendía conceptualized and designed the study, drafted the initial manuscript, and approved the final version as submitted. César Javier Ortega-Pacheco contributed to conception, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final version as submitted. Elvira García-Guerrero contributed to conception, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final version as submitted. María Alejandra Sicsik-Aragón contributed to conception, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final version as submitted. Fernando Guerrero-Romero contributed to conception, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final version as submitted. Gerardo Martínez-Aguilar contributed to conception and study design, drafted the manuscript, critically revised the manuscript, and gave final approval.

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Correspondence to Gerardo Martínez-Aguilar.

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All procedures performed in studies involving 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 parents.

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Simental-Mendía, L.E., Ortega-Pacheco, C.J., García-Guerrero, E. et al. The triglycerides and glucose index is strongly associated with hepatic steatosis in children with overweight or obesity. Eur J Pediatr (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-021-03951-1

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Keywords

  • TyG index
  • Triglycerides
  • Glucose
  • Hepatic steatosis
  • Children