Association between triglyceride‑glucose index and lumbar bone mineral density among Chinese individuals with osteoporotic fractures: a cross sectional study

Few studies have explored the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) across different skeletal sites in individuals with osteoporotic fractures (OPFs). The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between the TyG index and lumbar BMD in individuals with OPFs. Conducted at the Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University between January 2017 and March 2024, this retrospective cross-sectional study involved 950 OPFs patients requiring hospitalization or surgery. In this study, lumbar BMD the dependent variable, while the TyG index served as the independent variable. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to evaluate the association between the TyG index and lumbar BMD levels. The generalized additive model (GAM) was employed to explore non-linear associations. In the all-adjusted models, a positive association was found between the TyG index and lumbar BMD among the patients with OPFs (β = 0.027; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.011-0.042; P-value < 0.001). Similar results were observed across the four quantiles of the TyG index, Q4 (β = 0.045; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.019-0.072; P-value < 0.001). A highly uniform pattern was noted across these findings. The evidence-based discovery of the relationship between the TyG index and lumbar BMD could inform clinical practices, particularly in the assessment and management of bone health in patients with OPFs.