Abstract
BACKGROUND: The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, combined with obesity-related indicators such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), has been proven to be reliable for assessing insulin resistance (IR). The objective of this study is to investigate the relationships between TyG-related parameters and the prevalence of kidney stones among adults in the United States (US). METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2007-2020 to evaluate the associations of TyG-related parameters with kidney stones. Weighted logistic regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and subgroup analysis were employed to investigate these relationships. RESULTS: A total of 15,590 participants were included in the analysis. Significant differences were observed in the distributions of TyG-related parameters between those with and without kidney stones. In the fully adjusted model, participants in the highest quartile of TyG-related parameters had a higher risk of kidney stones compared to those in the lowest quartile [TyG-WC: odds ratio (OR): 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66-2.60; TyG-BMI: OR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.61-2.57; TyG-WHtR: OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.72-2.84]. RCS analysis indicated that these associations were non-linear (P for nonlinearity <0.05). ROC analysis showed that TyG-WC had the highest diagnostic accuracy (area under curve: 0.6130). Subgroup analysis further revealed a stronger positive association between TyG-WC and TyG-WHtR and the prevalence of kidney stones in participants without hypertension (P for interaction <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, there are strong positive correlations between TyG-related parameters and the prevalence of kidney stones in US adults. Our findings suggest that managing IR and preventing obesity may help reduce the risk of kidney stone formation.