Association of triglyceride-glucose index with incident hypertension among non-overweight healthy adults: A cohort study in China

Background and aims Overweight and obesity are well recognized as important and traditional risk factors for hypertension (HTN), but the prevalence of HTN tends to increase in non-overweight people. Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has been observed to be associated with HTN. However, whether such association still persists in non-overweight people remains unclear. The aim of our cohort study was to explore the link between TyG index and incident HTN in non-overweight Chinese population. Methods and results As many as 4678 individuals without HTN at baseline were involved, who underwent at least two years of health check-ups in the eight-year study period and maintained non-overweight at follow-up. According to baseline TyG index quintiles, participants were classified into five groups. Compared with the 1st quantile, those in the 5th quantile of TyG index had a 1.73-fold (HR 95% CI 1.13–2.65) risk of incident HTN. The results remained consistent when analyses were restricted to participants without abnormal TG or FPG level at baseline (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.17–2.26). Furthermore, the subgroup analyses were conducted, the risk of incident HTN was still significantly increased with increasing TyG index for subgroups of older participants (age≥ 40 years), males, females and higher BMI group (BMI≥ 21 kg/m2). Conclusions The risk of incident HTN increased with increasing TyG index among Chinese non-overweight adults, so TyG index might be a reliable predictor of incident HTN among adults maintaining non-overweight.