The triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index has been correlated with insulin resistance. We aim to investigate the role of the TyG index on cardiovascular (CV) events in type 2 diabetes mellitus and compare the roles of fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and the TyG index in predicting CV events. This retrospective study enrolled 3524 patients with type 2 diabetes from the Kaohsiung Medical University Research Database in 2009 in this longitudinal study and followed them until 2015. The TyG index was calculated as log (fasting triglyceride level (mg/dL) × fasting glucose level (mg/dL)/2). CV events included myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke, hospitalization for coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and CV-related death. The association between variables and CV events was assessed using a multivariable stepwise Cox proportional hazard analysis. Two hundred and fifteen CV events (6.1%) were recorded during a follow-up period of 5.93 years. The multivariable stepwise analysis showed that high fasting glucose (HR, 1.007; p < 0.001) and a high TyG index (HR, 1.521; p = 0.004) but not hemoglobin A1c or triglycerides were associated with a higher rate of CV events. Adding fasting glucose and the TyG index to the basic model improved the predictive ability of progression to a CV event (p < 0.001 and p = 0.018, respectively), over that of hemoglobin A1c (p = 0.084) and triglyceride (p = 0.221). Fasting glucose and the TyG index are useful parameters and stronger predictive factors than hemoglobin A1c and triglyceride for CV events and may offer an additional prognostic benefit in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: It is well known that diabetes mellitus impairs immunity and therefore is an independent risk factor for tuberculosis. However, the influence of associated metabolic factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and gout has yet to be confirmed. This study aimed to investigate whether the strong association between tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus is independent from the influence of hypertension and dyslipidemia, and its treatment in elderly Taiwanese patients. Methods: A total of 27,958 patients aged more than 65 years were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NIHRD) in 1997 and were followed from 1998 to 2009. The demographic characteristics between the patients with and without diabetes were analyzed using the χ2 test. A total of 13,981 patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to determine the independent effects of diabetes on the risk of tuberculosis. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, other co-morbidities and medications, calcium channel blocker, beta blocker and statin users had a lower independent association, with risk ratios of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.58–0.98), 0.72 (95% CI, 0.58–0.91) and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.60–0.97), respectively. Conclusion: Calcium channel blocker, beta blocker and statin therapy may decrease the incidence of tuberculosis infection in elderly Taiwanese patients with type 2 diabetes.