Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the demographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics associated with varying levels of triglycerides (TGs) in a large population sample. METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized data from a nationwide health screening program in Mongolia. A total of 125,330 participants (mean age: 43.8 ± 15.3 years) were included. TG levels were categorized into normal, borderline high, high, and very high. Due to the small number of participants in the very high TG group, they were combined with the high TG category for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of elevated TG levels. RESULTS: The majority of participants (80.3%) had normal TG levels, while 10.3% had borderline high, 8.7% had high, and 0.7% had very high TG levels. Significant predictors of elevated TG levels included age (OR 1.013, 95% CI 1.012-1.014), male (OR 2.328, 95% CI 2.251-2.408), obesity (OR 1.920, 95% CI 1.855-1.987), central obesity (OR 1.866, 95% CI 1.801-1.933), smoking (OR 1.399, 95% CI 1.347-1.453), alcohol use (OR 1.233, 95% CI 1.176-1.292), and non-regular exercise (OR 1.144, 95% CI 1.118-1.171). Sex-specific analysis revealed that elevated TG levels were more prevalent among males, regardless of other risk factors such as obesity and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Male sex, obesity, and smoking were the strongest predictors of elevated TG levels.