Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are among the most severe complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has been proposed as a surrogate marker of insulin resistance, but its relationship with DFU in hospitalized patients remains under evaluation.

A dual-center, retrospective case-control study published in Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare assessed the association between the TyG index and the presence of DFU in adult inpatients with T2DM. The analysis included 497 consecutively admitted patients between 2014 and 2023, of whom 106 had DFU, and 391 did not. Mean TyG and TyG-body mass index (BMI) values were compared between groups, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to evaluate associations.

The analysis showed higher mean TyG index values in patients with DFU compared with those without DFU (5.02 ± 0.15 vs 4.98 ± 0.09; p<0.001). Mean TyG-BMI values were also higher in the DFU group (133.7 ± 23.5 vs 126 ± 20.0; p=0.004). ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.61 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.68; p<0.001), with sensitivity of 38% and specificity of 92% at a cut-off value greater than 5.08. In multivariate models, the TyG index was independently associated with DFU (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.68 to 2.83; p<0.0001 and OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.71; p=0.001).

These findings show an association between higher TyG index values and the presence of DFU in adults with T2DM, based on data from hospitalized patients.