Association between serum triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and sarcopenia among elderly patients with diabetes: a secondary data analysis of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Previous studies investigating the association between the serum triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and the occurrence of sarcopenia in different populations have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to investigate the potential association between TG/HDL-C ratio and sarcopenia among elderly Chinese patients with diabetes.

DESIGN:

A secondary data analysis.

SETTING:

This was a secondary analysis of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

PARTICIPANTS:

In this study, 752 elderly individuals with diabetes were included after excluding individuals aged <60 years old, those with missing data for the assessment of sarcopenia and missing measurements for plasma glucose or glycated haemoglobin.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary information included TG/HDL-C ratio, muscle strength, physical performance, muscle mass and covariables. The association between TG/HDL-C ratio and sarcopenia was assessed using ordinal logistic regression and linear regression analysis.

RESULTS:

On multivariate ordinal logistic regression, among male patients, compared with those with the lowest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (≤1.41), those with the highest quartile (>4.71) had a significantly lower risk of more severe sarcopenia (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.54). Similarly, among female patients, compared with those with the lowest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (≤2.07), those with the highest quartile (>5.61) had a significantly lower risk of more severe sarcopenia (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.44). In multivariate linear regression, male patients with the highest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (β=0.36, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.51) had higher muscle mass than those with the lowest quartile. Similarly, female patients with the highest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (β=0.31, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.51) had higher muscle mass than those with the lowest quartile.

CONCLUSIONS:

There was a negative association between TG/HDL-C ratio categorised by quartile and sarcopenia, which indicates that a higher TG/HDL-C ratio may be related to better muscle status.

• Authors: Yinghe Lin, Shanshan Zhong, Zhihua Sun
• Journal: BMJ open (BMJ Open) Vol. 13 Issue 8 Pg. e075311 (08 31 2023) ISSN: 2044-6055 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37652587 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Chemical References

• Cholesterol, HDL

Topics

• Aged
• Humans
• Female
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Sarcopenia (epidemiology)
• Longitudinal Studies
• Retirement
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Diabetes Mellitus (epidemiology)
• China (epidemiology)
• Cholesterol, HDL