Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Feb 16, 2024; 16(2): 55-63
Published online Feb 16, 2024. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v16.i2.55
Association between triglyceride-glucose index and colorectal polyps: A retrospective cross-sectional study
Ya-Jie Teng, Ying-Xue Yang, Jing-Jing Yang, Qiu-Yan Lu, Jia-Yi Shi, Jian-Hao Xu, Jie Bao, Qing-Hua Wang
Ya-Jie Teng, Ying-Xue Yang, Jing-Jing Yang, Qiu-Yan Lu, Jia-Yi Shi, Jie Bao, Qing-Hua Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou 215300, Jiangsu Province, China
Jian-Hao Xu, Department of Pathology, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou 215300, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Ya-Jie Teng and Ying-Xue Yang
Author contributions: Teng YJ, Yang YX, Yang JJ, Bao J, Shi JY, Xu JH and Wang QH participated in literature search, study design; Teng YJ, Yang YX, Yang JJ participated in data acquisition and wrote the manuscript; Teng YJ, Yang YX, Lu QY participated in interpretation of data; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Suzhou Municipal Science and Technology Program of China, No. SKJY2021012.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethical Committee of the First People's Hospital of Kunshan (No. 2023-03-026).
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declared no conflict-of-interest.
Data sharing statement: Dataset available from the corresponding author at ksph_wqh@sina.com.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing-Hua Wang, MM, Chief Doctor, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, No. 566 Qianjin East Road, Kunshan, Suzhou 215300, Jiangsu Province, China. ksph_wqh@sina.com
Received: September 22, 2023
Peer-review started: September 22, 2023
First decision: October 20, 2023
Revised: November 16, 2023
Accepted: January 8, 2024
Article in press: January 8, 2024
Published online: February 16, 2024
Processing time: 130 Days and 18.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Colorectal polyps (CPs) are frequently occurring abnormal growths in the colorectum, and are a primary precursor of colorectal cancer (CRC). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a novel marker that assesses metabolic health and insulin resistance, and has been linked to gastrointestinal cancers.

AIM

To investigate the potential association between the TyG index and CPs, as the relation between them has not been documented.

METHODS

A total of 2537 persons undergoing a routine health physical examination and colonoscopy at The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China, between January 2020 and December 2022 were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. After excluding individuals who did not meet the eligibility criteria, descriptive statistics were used to compare characteristics between patients with and without CPs. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the associations between the TyG index and the prevalence of CPs. The TyG index was calculated using the following formula: Ln [triglyceride (mg/dL) × glucose (mg/dL)/2]. The presence and types of CPs was determined based on data from colonoscopy reports and pathology reports.

RESULTS

A nonlinear relation between the TyG index and the prevalence of CPs was identified, and exhibited a curvilinear pattern with a cut-off point of 2.31. A significant association was observed before the turning point, with an odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.70 (1.40, 2.06), P < 0.0001. However, the association between the TyG index and CPs was not significant after the cut-off point, with an odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 0.57 (0.27, 1.23), P = 0.1521.

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed a curvilinear association between the TyG index and CPs in Chinese individuals, suggesting its potential utility in developing colonoscopy screening strategies for preventing CRC.

Keywords: Triglyceride-glucose index, Colorectal polyps, Colorectal cancer, Insulin resistance, Cross-sectional study

Core Tip: This study represents the first exploration of the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and colorectal polyps in a Chinese population. The results showed a curvilinear relation, with a significant association observed before a cut-off point of 2.31. Beyond this cut-off point the association was no longer significant. These results provide valuable insights for future research in this area. Importantly, monitoring the TyG index and managing insulin resistance could potentially aid in identifying individuals at a higher risk of developing colorectal polyps, and implementing timely interventions to prevent their progression to colorectal cancer. This study contributes novel perspectives and avenues for preventing colorectal cancer.