Association of Triglyceride-glucose Index and Obesity Metrics with Cardiovascular Disease Among U.S. Adults with Hyperlipidemia: Findings from the NHANES 2007–2016

Background: Hyperlipidemia constitutes a systemic metabolic disorder. The correlation of cardiovascular disease [CVD] with the triglyceride-glucose index [TyG] in individuals with hyperlipidemia remains unclear. The current study examined the associations of CVD risk with TyG and obesity metrics in individuals with hyperlipidemia in the United States. Methods: The present study used a cross-sectional approach utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning the years 2007–2016. Restricted cubic spline [RCS] and weighted logistic regression [WLR] analyses were executed to evaluate the associations of CVD risk with TyG and obesity metrics in individuals with hyperlipidemia. Subgroup analyses were further performed to evaluate the robustness of these correlations. Results: The present study cohort comprised 7144 participants, including 720 with CVD. WLR revealed that TyG-body mass index [BMI], TyG-WC-to-height ratio [WHtR], and TyG-waist circumference [WC] were markedly linked to elevated CVD risk [TyG-BMI: odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.70 (1.21–2.39), P = 0.003; TyG-WC: 1.62 (1.17–2.24), P = 0.004; TyG-WHtR: 1.67 (1.21–2.30), P = 0.002], whereas TyG alone showed no statistically significant correlation [1.14 (0.81–1.61), P = 0.443]. RCS analysis demonstrated a marked linear positive correlation of CVD risk with TyG combined with obesity metrics. Subgroup analyses further verified the robustness and reliability of these findings. Conclusions: Among U.S. individuals with hyperlipidemia, no independent association of CVD risk with TyG alone was observed. Nevertheless, TyG combined with obesity metrics exhibited a significant correlation with CVD. TyG integrated with obesity indicators may provide enhanced predictive capability for detecting individuals with heightened early-stage CVD risk among populations with hyperlipidemia.