Association between Serum Spermidine and TyG Index: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Although animal experiments have shown that spermidine (SPD) affects insulin resistance (IR), the evidence for this in humans is still scarce. We aimed to investigate the associations between serum SPD levels and the TyG index in the adult population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 4336 participants, all of whom were adults aged 35+ years. The SPD levels in serum were detected using high performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index was calculated as Ln [fasting triglycerides (TG) (mg/dL) x fasting glucose (mg/dL)/(2)]. Results: After multivariable adjustment, including demographic characteristics, behavioral factors associated with heath, and a history of taking medicine, SPD was inversely associated with the TyG index (beta = -0.036; SE: 0.009; p < 0.001). Furthermore, each increase of 1 lnSPD significantly decreased the risk of IR with an odds ratio (ORs) (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) of 0.89 (0.83-0.96). Relative to the first quintile, the multivariate-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for the third and fourth quartile group were 0.80 (0.65, 0.99) and 0.71 (0.57, 0.88), respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, SPD was inversely associated with the TyG index. Our findings inform future exploratory research on the further mechanism of the association between spermidine and IR.