TG/HDL-C Ratio for Predicting Insulin Resistance in Obese Children from Beijing, China.

backgroundInternational 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.

objectiveThe 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.

methodsWe 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).

resultsThe 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.

conclusionWe 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.