why choose us

300×250 Ad Slot

Research Article: Cumulative exposure and patterns of the cholesterol–HDL-C–glucose index and risk of new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity: 9-year longitudinal evidence from CHARLS

Date Published: 2026-05-25

Abstract:
The cholesterol–HDL-C–glucose (CHG) index has been proposed as an integrated marker of glucose–lipid metabolic dysfunction. However, the associations of long-term CHG exposure and its temporal patterns with new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) remain unclear, particularly among middle-aged and older adults. We used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and included participants aged 45 years or older without baseline CMM. Cumulative CHG (cuCHG) was calculated as a cumulative exposure metric based on CHG measured in 2012 and 2015. K-means clustering was applied to identify broad CHG patterns based on the two repeated measurements. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were performed to examine the dose–response relationship. Among 6,515 participants, 593 new-onset CMM events (9.1%) occurred over a median follow-up of 9 years. In the fully adjusted model, participants in the highest quartile of cuCHG had a 78% higher risk of new-onset CMM than those in the lowest quartile (HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.39–2.29), and each 1-unit increase in cuCHG was associated with a 23% higher risk (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.15–1.32). Three distinct CHG patterns based on two repeated measurements were identified, and only the persistently high CHG pattern group was significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset CMM (HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.61–2.61). RCS and piecewise Cox analyses suggested a non-linear association, with a potential threshold at a cuCHG value of 14.92. These findings remained robust across subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Compared with baseline CHG, the triglyceride–glucose index, and the atherogenic index of plasma, cuCHG and CHG pattern groups showed better discriminatory performance. Higher cumulative CHG exposure and a persistently high CHG pattern group were independently associated with an increased risk of new-onset CMM in middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Compared with a single baseline CHG measurement, cumulative CHG exposure and CHG patterns based on repeated measurements may provide additional information for CMM risk stratification.

Introduction:
The cholesterol–HDL-C–glucose (CHG) index has been proposed as an integrated marker of glucose–lipid metabolic dysfunction. However, the associations of long-term CHG exposure and its temporal patterns with new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) remain unclear, particularly among middle-aged and older adults.

Read more

300×250 Ad Slot