ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1614970
Association between triglyceride-glucose index and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in systemic lupus erythematosus: a cohort-based study
Provisionally accepted
- First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Objective: To investigate the association between triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).In this tertiary-center cross-sectional study, 333 consecutive SLE patients undergoing carotid ultrasonography were stratified by TyG index tertiles. The TyG index was calculated as ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL)×fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Participants were categorized according to the TyG index tertiles: tertile 1 (<8.25), tertile 2 (8.25-8.69) and tertile 3 (>8.70). Multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, BMI, comorbidities, LDL-c, statin, and SLE-specific covariates were employed to assess relationships between TyG index and carotid atherosclerosis/plaque presence.The overall rate of carotid atherosclerosis was 10.5% (35/333), with significantly elevated TyG in affected versus unaffected patients (8.77 ± 0.45 vs 8.45 ± 0.49; p<0.001). The frequency of carotid atherosclerosis was increased with increases in TyG tertiles (3.6% for tertile 1, 10.0% for tertile 2, 17.7% for tertile 3; p=0.003). Each 1-unit TyG increase was associated with a 4.29-fold increased atherosclerosis risk after full adjustment (95% CI 1.47-12.53). Compared to tertile 1, tertile 3 participants exhibited 5.58-fold increased odds of atherosclerosis (95% CI 1.52-20.53; P for trend 0.021). Consistent patterns were observed for carotid plaque outcomes.Conclusions: Elevated TyG index independently predicts carotid atherosclerosis risk in SLE populations beyond traditional cardiovascular and lupus-specific confounders. This accessible metabolic biomarker may enhance early atherosclerotic risk stratification in SLE management.
Keywords: systemic lupus erythematosus, Triglyceride-glucose index, carotid atherosclerosis, Carotid artery plaque, Association
Received: 20 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xie, Li, Huang, Fan, Gao, Zhang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhuoli Zhang, First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
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