ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Elevated triglyceride-glucose index increases risk in patients with retinal vein occlusion
Provisionally accepted
- Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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Background: Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is the second most prevalent retinal vascular disorder, and persistent macular edema secondary to RVO represents a leading cause of visual impairment. Emerging studies have indicated that the Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) index holds clinical significance in assessing vascular damage. This study aimed to investigate the role of the TyG index in patients with RVO. Methods: In this retrospective study, we examined 51 patients diagnosed with RVO alongside 54 age-and gender-matched control subjects. Comprehensive ocular examinations were performed, and various hematological parameters, including fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, were obtained through blood biochemistry tests. The TyG index was calculated utilizing fasting plasma glucose and triglyceride levels. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between lipid markers and the risk of RVO. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to evaluate the predictive values of the TyG index in relation to RVO. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 22), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Among the hematological parameters assessed, no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding glucose, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P > 0.05). However, triglyceride levels in the RVO group were significantly increased compared to those in the control group (P< 0.0001). Additionally, TyG values were markedly higher in individuals with RVO than in controls (P< 0.0001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the TyG index was significantly associated with RVO after adjusting for age and sex (OR = 48.21; 95% CI: 7.19–323.41; P < 0.001). Notably, the TyG index showed an AUC value of 0.819, along with favorable sensitivity (72.55%) and high specificity (83.33%), suggesting its potential as a promising biomarker for both the diagnosis and prognosis of RVO. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the TyG index is elevated in patients diagnosed with retinal vein occlusion. Therefore, the TyG index may serve as a significant predictive biomarker for identifying individuals at risk of developing retinal vein occlusion.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Retinal vascular disorder, Retinal Vein Occlusion, risk factor, Triglyceride-glucose index
Received: 09 Sep 2025; Accepted: 11 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ji, Lv, Xia, Yang, Song, Xing and Yang. 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: Kaibao Ji
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