08/06/2026
🫁 Can a simple metabolic marker provide clues about future lung health?
Association of triglyceride-glucose index with presence and development of impaired spirometry: results from Austrian LEAD cohort.
Azizzadeh, M., Wouters, E. F. M., Lim, C. J. M., Sturm, M., Breyer-Kohansal, R., & Breyer, M. K. (2026).
BMC pulmonary medicine, 10.1186/s12890-026-04361-5. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-026-04361-5
Our latest analysis of the Austrian LEAD cohort shows that a higher triglyceride-to-glucose ratio (TyG) is associated with poorer lung function and an increased risk of restrictive spirometry patterns.
📊 A study of 9,668 adults and a longitudinal follow-up of 6,880 individuals over an average of 4.3 years revealed:
✅ Higher TyG values were associated with lower lung function and lung volume parameters.
✅ Individuals with elevated TyG had a higher risk of restrictive spirometry and PRISm.
✅ For the first time, a longitudinal analysis suggests that an elevated TyG value could also predict the development of restrictive lung dysfunction.
💡 The results underscore the close link between metabolic and lung health. Although the TyG index alone is not suitable as a screening tool, it could contribute to risk stratification as an easily accessible marker.
🔬 The study is based on data from our Austrian LEAD study and provides important new insights into the influence of metabolic factors on the long-term development of lung function. The Austrian LEAD (Lung, hEart, sociAl, boDy) study (NCT 01727518) LEAD is the first longitudinal, single-centre, epidemiological study of the Austrian general population.
