Abstract
BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that the gut microbiome is involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance (IR). However, the link between two of the most prevalent bowel disorders, chronic diarrhea and constipation, and the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index, a marker of IR, has not yet been investigated. AIM: To investigate the potential association between TyG and the incidence of chronic diarrhea and constipation. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 2400 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database from 2009-2010. TyG was used as an exposure variable, with chronic diarrhea and constipation as determined by the Bristol Stool Form Scale used as the outcome variables. A demographic investigation based on TyG quartile subgroups was performed. The application of multivariate logistic regression models and weighted generalized additive models revealed potential correlations between TyG, chronic diarrhea, and constipation. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine the stability of any potential associations. RESULTS: In the chosen sample, chronic diarrhea had a prevalence of 8.00%, while chronic constipation had a prevalence of 8.04%. In multiple logistic regression, a more prominent positive association was found between TyG and chronic diarrhea, particularly in model 1 (OR = 1.45; 95%CI: 1.17-1.79, P = 0.0007) and model 2 (OR = 1.40; 95%CI: 1.12-1.76, P = 0.0033). No definite association was observed between the TyG levels and chronic constipation. The weighted generalized additive model findings suggested a more substantial positive association with chronic diarrhea when TyG was less than 9.63 (OR = 1.89; 95%CI: 1.05-3.41, P = 0.0344), and another positive association with chronic constipation when it was greater than 8.2 (OR = 1.74; 95%CI: 1.02-2.95, P = 0.0415). The results of the subgroup analyses further strengthen the extrapolation of these results to a wide range of populations. CONCLUSION: Higher TyG levels were positively associated with abnormal bowel health.