# The triglyceride glucose-body mass index is positively associated with higher risk of hypertension in rural southwest Chinese population: a cross sectional study

## TL;DR

A study in rural southwest China finds that a new measure of insulin resistance is linked to higher hypertension risk.

## Contribution

TyG-BMI is shown to be a novel indicator for hypertension risk in a rural Chinese population.

## Key findings

- Higher TyG-BMI quartiles are associated with increased hypertension risk.
- TyG-BMI shows a nonlinear relationship with hypertension.
- TyG-BMI has moderate predictive ability for hypertension (AUC: 0.641).

## Abstract

Insulin resistance (IR) has been shown to be associated with hypertension. The triglyceride-glucose body mass index (TyG-BMI) has emerged as a novel surrogate marker for assessing IR. This study aimed to investigate the association between the TyG-BMI index and hypertension among adults in rural southwest China using a cross-sectional study.

We recruited 2,998 people between the ages of 30 and 79 from Rongchang, Chongqing municipality, southwest China, as part of The China Multi-Ethnic Cohort Study, considered the largest cohort study in southwest China. Logistic regression model, restricted cubic spline (RCS) model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were applied to estimate the association between the TyG-BMI index and hypertension. Moreover, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were undertaken to check the consistency of the outcomes.

A total of 2,998 participants were included in the present study, with a hypertension prevalence of 39.93%. After adjusting for confounding factors, the ORs of hypertension in Q2, Q3, Q4 were 1.641 (1.277–2.109), 1.768 (1.371–2.281), 2.463 (1.794–3.382) compared with the lowest quartile (Q1), respectively. RCS indicated that the TyG-BMI index was nonlinearly associated with hypertension (Pfor overall < 0.001, Pfor nonlinear = 0.046). The ROC analysis indicated that the TyG-BMI index had a 64.1% (AUC: 0.641, 95% CI: 0.621–0.661) ability to distinguish hypertension. Subgroup analysis in participants without diabetes, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia and central obesity as well as sensitivity analyses also demonstrated the similar relationship between the TyG-BMI index and hypertension.

The current study demonstrates that the TyG-BMI index is associated with higher risk of hypertension among rural adults in southwest China. Lifestyle modifications, including weight control, vigorous physical activity and healthy dietary pattern can help improve IR and prevent hypertension.