Endocrine Abstracts

Background

Serum urate (SU) has been positively and independently associated with type 2 diabetes in observational studies, but causal roles remain unclear.¹ Triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index can be a useful and easily performed indicator of insulin resistance for daily clinical practice.² The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between SU and TyG index in 22-year-old participants of a birth cohort.

Materials and methods

During 1993, all live born babies in the city of Pelotas (Brazil) were invited to take part in a prospective study and sub-samples of this cohort were followed-up since then. At the 22-year follow-up, interviews and clinical measurements were performed and non-fasting blood samples were drawn from the participants. SU, blood glucose and triglycerides were evaluated by enzymatic-colorimetric assay. Insulin was assessed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The TyG index was calculated as Ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dl) × fasting glucose (mg/dl)]/2. The co-variables used were fasting period, body mass index, alcohol use disorder and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Variables are shown as mean (±S.D.) or median (25–75 IQR). Sex-stratified linear regressions have been performed using STATA 13 and P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The sample was composed by 1657 (46.3%) men and 1921 (53.7%) women of 22 years old. Mean (±S.D.) SU (mg/dl) was higher in men than in women (5.2±1.2 vs. 3.9±1.1); the same was observed for blood glucose (mg/dl) (91.7±25.7 vs. 88.5±20.9). Median (25–75 IQR) insulin (µU/ml) was also higher in men [20.5 (10.9; 39.3) vs. 18.4 (10; 34.2)]. Median (25–75 IQR) triglycerides (mg/dl) was higher in women [87 (63; 117) vs. 85 (62; 120)]. The adjusted linear regression coefficient (95%CI) between SU and TyG index was 0.50 (0.39; 0.61) for men and 0.41 (0.32; 0.51) for women; both with P <0.001. SU was positively associated with TyG index in both sexes, although there was no statistically significant association in adjusted analyses between SU and insulin concentrations.

Conclusion

The increase of SU was associated with increasing TyG index in early adult age, even when adjusted for potential confounders. The association of SU with TyG index may occur earlier than with serum insulin.

References

1. Mortada I. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2017;19(9):69.

2. Unger G, et al. Endocrinol Nutr. 2014;61(10):533–40.