title: Assessment of the ability of the triglyceride to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio to discriminate insulin resistance among Caribbean-born black persons with and without Hispanic ethnicity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this research was to determine if the triglyceride (TG) to high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (TG/HDL) ratio has similar utility for discriminating insulin resistance in Caribbean-born black persons with and without Hispanic ethnicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum lipids, glucose and insulin were determined and compared for 144 Hispanic blacks and 655 non-Hispanic blacks living in the US Virgin Islands. Area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve statistics were used to evaluate the ability of the TG/HDL ratio to discriminate insulin resistance in the two ethnic groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hispanic blacks had significantly higher levels of triglycerides and insulin resistance and a lower level of HDL cholesterol than non-Hispanic blacks. The AUROC curve for the ability of the TG/HDL to discriminate insulin resistance was 0.71 (95% CI = 0.62, 0.79) for Hispanic blacks and 0.64 (95% CI = 0.59, 0.69) for non-Hispanic blacks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among Caribbean-born black persons living in the US Virgin Islands, the TG/HDL ratio is a useful screening measure for discriminating insulin resistance in those with Hispanic ethnicity but not in those without Hispanic ethnicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, 5th Floor, Graduate School of Public Health, 130 DeSoto Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261-3100, USA. est@pitt.edu
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Tull
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D044383:Black People; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D004293:Dominican Republic / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006946:Hyperinsulinism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000208:ethnology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D012372:ROC Curve; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*; D014767:United States Virgin Islands
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D007328:Insulin; D014280:Triglycerides