Association between triglyceride-glucose index and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a cross-sectional study

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) frequently have comorbid metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), but the association of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index with MAFLD in this population remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association and discriminative ability of the TyG index for MAFLD in adults with OSA. A cross-sectional study was conducted, enrolling 1,308 patients diagnosed with OSA. Binary logistic regression, ROC curve analysis, and RCS regression were used to examine the association and discriminative performance of the TyG index for MAFLD. The mean age of the participants was 48.65 years; 83.5% were male and 16.5% female. There were 512 patients in the non-MAFLD group and 796 in the MAFLD group. The MAFLD group had higher TyG index levels, TS90%, and ODI, and lower LaSO₂ and mean SpO₂ (all p < 0.05). RCS analysis showed a nonlinear positive association between the TyG index and MAFLD. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.736. Subgroup analyses further indicated that the association was stronger in patients with mild-to-moderate OSA. The TyG index has adjunctive value in the assessment of prevalent MAFLD in patients with OSA.