Higher TyG Levels Linked to Increased Risk of Diabetic Neuropathy: Study
Elevated triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index levels were associated with a higher risk of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, a causal relationship has not been established. The TyG index may help inform clinical screening and risk assessment for DPN. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology by Xin Gu and colleagues.
A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on all major international and regional databases, such as PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and CQVIP, to synthesize the observational research on the metabolic connection. Two reviewers independently screened for literature, extracted data, and assessed quality in order to select observational studies evaluating the association between TyG index and the risk of developing DPN among adult patients with T2DM. Both random and fixed effects models were used to combine odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR). Subgroup analysis was also extensively carried out by age, sample size, BMI, geography, and levels of control for confounding factors.
Key findings:
- The meta-analysis included data from 14 observational studies involving 32,281 patients with type 2 diabetes, resulting in quantitative risk measures.
- Cross-sectional and retrospective analysis found that higher levels of TyG had a significantly high association with increased risk of DPN, which gave a pooled OR of 2.614 (95% CI: 1.788–3.821, P < 0.0001).
- The prospective cohort analysis provided evidence for a significant increase in risk with time, giving a pooled HR of 1.248 (95% CI: 1.003–1.553, P = 0.0471).
- The positive correlation between high TyG index and the risk of DPN has been statistically consistent in most of the stratified groups, including the differences based on age, sample size of the study, BMI, and confounders.
- The subgroup analysis found the positive correlation statistically significant in Chinese studies and not significant in non-China studies.
In summary, high levels of TyG are positively correlated with the risk of developing diabetic peripheral neuropathy in individuals with type 2 diabetes. It is evident from the conclusions made in the study that even though the exact cause-and-effect link needs more research to validate, the TyG index is a great surrogate biomarker for risk detection of neuropathy in diabetics.
Reference:
Gu X, Wei M, Wu C, Li A, Sun A, Guo J, Wang H, Wang C, Li Y, Zhu Q and Gong Y (2026) The association between the triglyceride-glucose index and diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front. Endocrinol. 17:1901899. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2026.1901899
