Association between serum triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and sarcopenia among elderly patients with diabetes: a secondary data analysis of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Objective Previous studies investigating the association between the serum triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and the occurrence of sarcopenia in different populations have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to investigate the potential association between TG/HDL-C ratio and sarcopenia among elderly Chinese patients with diabetes. Design A secondary data analysis. Setting This was a secondary analysis of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Participants In this study, 752 elderly individuals with diabetes were included after excluding individuals aged <60 years old, those with missing data for the assessment of sarcopenia and missing measurements for plasma glucose or glycated haemoglobin. Outcome measures The primary information included TG/HDL-C ratio, muscle strength, physical performance, muscle mass and covariables. The association between TG/HDL-C ratio and sarcopenia was assessed using ordinal logistic regression and linear regression analysis. Results On multivariate ordinal logistic regression, among male patients, compared with those with the lowest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (<= 1.41), those with the highest quartile (>4.71) had a significantly lower risk of more severe sarcopenia (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.54). Similarly, among female patients, compared with those with the lowest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (<= 2.07), those with the highest quartile (>5.61) had a significantly lower risk of more severe sarcopenia (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.44). In multivariate linear regression, male patients with the highest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (beta=0.36, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.51) had higher muscle mass than those with the lowest quartile. Similarly, female patients with the highest quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio (beta=0.31, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.51) had higher muscle mass than those with the lowest quartile. Conclusions There was a negative association between TG/HDL-C ratio categorised by quartile and sarcopenia, which indicates that a higher TG/HDL-C ratio may be related to better muscle status.