TITLE:
The Triglyceride-Glucose Index: An Affordable Tool for Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Taxi-Motorbike Drivers in Cotonou, Benin
AUTHORS:
Arnaud Zinsou Vinouyon Henry, Patrice Hodonou Avogbe, Ambaliou Sanni
KEYWORDS:
Cotonou, Cardiovascular Disease Risk (CVD), Framingham Risk Score (FRS), Triglyceride-Glucose Index (TyG), Taxi-Motorbike Drivers (TMDs)
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.13 No.9,
September
11,
2025
ABSTRACT: Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment is particularly challenging in low-resource settings, especially among high-risk occupational groups such as taxi-motorbike drivers (TMDs) in Cotonou, Benin. This population faces a heightened CVD burden attributable to prolonged sedentary behavior and chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is a promising surrogate marker of insulin resistance (IR) and cardiometabolic risk, but its utility has not been evaluated in this unique population in Benin. This study aimed to investigate the association between the TyG index and cardiometabolic risk factors and determine its predictive utility for 10-year CVD risk in TMDs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among male, non-smoking TMDs (n = 137). Fasting blood samples were analyzed for glucose, lipids, and insulin. The TyG index was calculated as Ln[fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and medical history were collected. Participants were stratified into TyG index tertiles. IR was assessed by HOMA-IR, and 10-year CVD risk was estimated using the Framingham Risk Score. Associations between the TyG index and cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed using correlation coefficients and logistic regression. Predictive capacity was evaluated using Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUROC) curve analysis. Results: Among the participants, higher TyG index tertiles showed significant progressive increases in BMI, blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, LDL-C, and uric acid (all p Conclusions: The TyG index is strongly associated with an adverse metabolic profile and elevated estimated cardiovascular risk in TMDs. The identified cut-off of 7.73 is lower than in other populations but demonstrates consistent predictive value, highlighting the necessity for population-specific thresholds. The TyG index is a simple, cost-effective tool that should be integrated into occupational health screening programs in resource-limited settings to enable early detection and targeted interventions to mitigate the CVD burden in this high-risk Beninese workforce.