Association of the triglyceride-glucose index with the risk of sarcopenia: a meta-analysis with clinical implications.

PURPOSE: Sarcopenia is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in older adults, yet simple and widely available biomarkers for early risk identification remain limited. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and the risk of sarcopenia.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI databases were searched up to October 27, 2025. Observational studies reporting the association between the TyG index and sarcopenia were included. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the risk of sarcopenia associated with different TyG index levels, and subgroup analyses based on sex, age, comorbidity of diabetes mellitus and the TyG index grouping method were performed. All the statistical analyses were conducted with STATA 17.0 software.

RESULTS

Twelve studies involving 46,417 patients were included, with a sarcopenia prevalence of 12.2%. The pooled results demonstrated that a lower TyG index was significantly associated with an increased risk of sarcopenia (OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.65-2.58, P < 0.001). Subgroup analyses by sex (male: OR = 2.47, P = 0.012; female: OR = 2.00, P = 0.006), age (older: OR = 2.02, P < 0.001; younger: OR = 1.84, P = 0.117), comorbidity of diabetes mellitus (nondiabetic: OR = 2.79, P < 0.001) and grouping method by the TyG index (binary variable: OR = 2.14, P = 0.003; continuous variable: OR = 2.10, P < 0.001) revealed consistent results, indicating the significant association of TyG index with sarcopenia risk.

CONCLUSION

The TyG index was significantly related to the prevalence of sarcopenia, and a lower TyG index indicated an increased risk of sarcopenia.

REGISTRATION: International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Metaanalysis Protocols No. INPLASY202640080, DOI https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2026.4.0080 , https://inplasy.com/ .

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.