Triglyceride-glucose index and incidence of hypertension, a population-based observational study of the Japanese population

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and the incidence of hypertension in a population-based sample of Japanese health check participants. METHODS: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using annual health checkup data from residents of Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. In total, 2,600 participants without hypertension at baseline were included in the present analysis. The TyG index was classified as quartile1 (<8.08), quartile2 (8.09-8.43), quartile3 (8.44-8.84) and quartile4 (≥8.85) for men, and as quartile1 (<7.89), quartile2 (7.9-8.22), quartile3 (8.23-8.54) and quartile4 (≥8.55) for women. The outcome measure was the incidence of hypertension. RESULTS: During an average follow-up period of 4.96 years, 789 participants developed hypertension using the Cox proportional hazards model. The annual incidence of hypertension increased with an increase in the TyG index in men (4.79% in quartile1, 6.25% in quartile2, 7.72% in quartile3, and 9.31% in quartile4) and women (3.65% in quartile1, 5.36% in quartile2, 5.55% in quartile3, and 6.96% in quartile4). This association was significant even after adjustment for other risk factors: hazard ratios 1.39 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.99-1.93] for quartil2, 1.44 (1.03-2.01) for quartile3, 1.79 (1.27-2.52) for quartile4 relative to quartile1 among men ( P = 0.001 for trend), 1.02 (95% CI 0.74-1.40) for quartile2, 1.04 (0.75-1.41) for quartile3, and 1.02 (0.74-1.42) for quartile4 relative to quartile1 among women ( P = 0.882 for trend). CONCLUSION: The TyG index was associated with the future incidence of hypertension in a population-based sample of Japanese men.