The mediating role of vitamin D in the relationship between triglyceride glucose index and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus: a causal mediation analysis

Objective: This study investigated the effects of triglyceride glucose index (TyG) and vitamin D levels on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in diabetic patients and assessed the potential mediating role of vitamin D in the relationship between TyG and mortality.

Methods: The study was based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2001 to 2018, which included 6,318 patients with diabetes. Multivariable Cox proportional risk regression models were employed to assess the association between TyG and vitamin D levels and the risk of death in diabetic patients. The interaction between TyG and vitamin D and its effect on mortality was explored through restricted cubic spline analysis and causal mediation analysis.

Results: The results demonstrated that the TyG index was positively associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in diabetic patients, whereas vitamin D levels were negatively associated with mortality, exhibiting an overall U-shaped association. The results indicated that vitamin D partially mediated the association between TyG and all-cause mortality. Further analysis revealed a significant mediation between vitamin D and TyG, whereby alterations in vitamin D levels influenced the impact of TyG on mortality. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that the correlation between TyG and mortality was more pronounced in diabetic patients with vitamin D insufficiency.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates the mediating influence of vitamin D on the relationship between TyG and mortality in diabetic patients. This finding underscores the necessity of evaluating the influence of vitamin D on survival outcomes in individuals with disparate levels of the TyG index.