Development and validation of age- and gender-specific reference intervals for the triglyceride-glucose index in a large Chinese healthy adult population
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By
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April 16, 2026
Objective:
To establish and validate age- and gender-specific reference intervals for the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index in a large cohort of healthy adults, addressing the current lack of standardized reference intervals.
Key Findings:
- A significant nonlinear relationship between TyG and age was identified, with an inflection point at 64.21 years, justifying age stratification.
- Overall TyG index reference interval was established as 7.47–8.90.
- Stratified reference intervals were defined for different age and gender groups: 7.47–8.91 for males aged 18–64, 7.46–8.90 for females aged 18–64, 7.44–8.90 for males aged ≥64, and 7.50–8.90 for females aged ≥64.
- Validation showed only 4.76% to 5.37% of values fell outside the proposed reference intervals.
Interpretation:
The established reference intervals for the TyG index provide a reliable standard for clinical interpretation, enhancing its utility in assessing metabolic risk and informing preventive healthcare strategies.
Limitations:
- The study was conducted in a single geographic region, which may limit generalizability.
- The retrospective design may introduce biases related to data collection.
- Exclusion of individuals with diabetes, dyslipidemia, or obesity may affect the applicability of the findings to the general population.
Conclusion:
This study successfully establishes and validates age- and gender-specific reference intervals for the TyG index, supporting its use in metabolic risk assessment.
