Triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio predicts cardiovascular events in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Background: The triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio has been shown to be a predictor of cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in the general population. The aim of this study was to determine whether the TG/HDL-C ratio is a predictor of CV events and all-cause mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational cohort study in which we enrolled 193 MHD patients from a single center in Japan who had been followed up for a median of 3.9 years. The outcomes were the occurrence of a CV event and all-cause mortality during the follow-up period. Baseline TG/HDL-C ratios were investigated for associations with outcomes by using Cox regression models adjusted for demographic parameters. Results: Overall, 88 of the subjects experienced a CV event, and 32 patients had died, of whom 4 died due to CV events. Patients with higher TG/HDL-C levels (tertile 3) had a higher incidence of CV events (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.82, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.01–3.35) and higher all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 6.13, 95 % CI 2.13–20.22) than the patients in tertile 1. Kaplan–Meier analyses by the log-rank test showed that the TG/HDL-C ratio had significant predictive power for detecting a CV event. Conclusions: The TG/HDL-C ratio is a reliable and easily accessible marker for predicting CV events and mortality in MHD patients.