Title:TG/HDL-C Ratio for Predicting Insulin Resistance in Obese Children
from Beijing, China
Volume: 24
Issue: 9
Author(s): Tian Zhang, Fangfang Duan, Yi Qian, Jin Zhang, Huihui Sun and Naijun Wan*
Affiliation:
- Department of Paediatric Internal Medicine, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100035,
China
Keywords:
Obesity, children, TG/HDL-C ratio, insulin resistance, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins.
Abstract:
Background: International studies have found that the blood triglycerides to highdensity
lipoproteins (TG/HDL-C) ratio predicted insulin resistance in children with overweight
and obesity. However, there is a lack of such reports on children from China.
Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the ability of the TG/HDL-C ratio as a blood
biomarker for insulin resistance (IR) in obese children in Beijing.
Methods: We evaluated 262 children with obesity from our paediatric outpatient clinic in a
cross-sectional study. Detailed medical histories of all children were ascertained, as were clinical
examination and laboratory test results, including blood lipids, fasting glucose, insulin, and
glycated haemoglobin. We divided them into age groups of 6-9 and 10-13.5 years and then into
IR and non-IR groups based on the homeostatic model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR). Analysis
was accomplished with SPSS software (version 22.0).
Results: The TG/HDL-C ratio was higher in children with IR in the 6-9 and 10-13.5-year age
groups (p < 0.001). Univariate and multivariate analyses displayed that the TG/HDL-C ratio and
HOMA-IR were correlated in the 6-9 and 10-13.5-year-old groups (p < 0.05). In the 6-9-yearold
group, IR identified by a TG/HDL-C ratio ≥ 0.645 had a sensitivity, specificity, and an area
under the curve (AUC) of 79.1%, 60.9%, and 0.734, respectively. In the 10–13.5-year-old
group, IR identified by a TG/HDL-C ratio ≥ 0.725 had a sensitivity, specificity, and an AUC of
79.4%, 62.9%, and 0.724, respectively.
Conclusion: We showed the application of the TG/HDL-C ratio to predict insulin resistance in
obese children in Beijing with different diagnostic thresholds based on age (6-9-year-old group
with TG/HDL-C ≥ 0.645; 10–13.5-year-old group with TG/HDL-C ≥ 0.725), which were lower
compared with the diagnostic threshold for insulin resistance in children reported in other countries.
