Association between the triglyceride‑glucose index‑a body shape index and kidney stones in adults: A large‑scale, cross‑sectional study in China

Insulin resistance and visceral obesity jointly drive the pathogenesis of kidney stones. However, the epidemiological utility of the composite triglyceride‑glucose index‑a body shape index (TyG‑ABSI) remains unclear. To clarify its utility, the present cross‑sectional study investigated the association between the TyG‑ABSI and the prevalence of kidney stones in a large Chinese population. Data collected from 89,546 participants who presented for health check‑ups at the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University (Yangzhou, China) in 2023 were analyzed using logistic regression models, subgroup analyses and smooth curve fitting, with full adjustment for confounding factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were developed to evaluate the discriminative ability of the indices. In the fully adjusted model, the TyG‑ABSI was positively associated with the prevalence of kidney stones [odds ratio (OR)=1.17; 95% CI: 1.12‑1.22; P<0.001]. Smooth curve analysis demonstrated a positive, strictly linear, continuous association with no threshold effect. Participants in the highest tertile exhibited significantly higher odds of developing kidney stones compared with those in the lowest tertile (OR=1.25; 95% CI: 1.16‑1.36; P<0.001). Subgroup analyses revealed that this positive association was highly consistent across all strata. ROC analysis of the TyG‑ABSI yielded a modest area under the ROC curve of 0.595 (95% CI: 0.588‑0.603), indicating that the TyG‑ABSI did not provide significant incremental discriminative value compared with the TyG index alone. Overall, the present findings demonstrated that the TyG‑ABSI exhibited a significantly positive, strictly linear association with the prevalence of kidney stones in a large Chinese population. Therefore, the TyG‑ABSI may serve as a valuable epidemiological indicator rather than as an isolated diagnostic tool, reflecting the underlying pathophysiological association between metabolic disorders and the likelihood of developing kidney stones.