Higher blood-based index linked to death after menopause
Women with index values one unit higher had a 28% higher rate of death during follow-up, after adjustment for other factors.
Dose-response
Researchers analysed data from 7,007 postmenopausal women in the US and 4,235 in China in an observational cohort study. The index combined C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, with fasting triglycerides, a type of blood fat, and glucose, or blood sugar. Median follow-up lasted 11.9 years in the US and 9.0 years in China; 2,940 women died.
After adjusting for other factors, each one-unit higher index value was associated with a 28% higher rate of death. In the US cohort, the association became steeper above an index value of 5.43. In China, the relationship followed a straight-line pattern. Excluding women who had cancer at the start did not change the results.
Why it matters
Insulin resistance, when cells respond less well to the hormone that controls blood sugar, and inflammation can rise together after menopause. The study suggests that a combined measure might help assess the risk of death across populations.
Caveats
These observational data cannot show that a higher index caused deaths. The study did not test whether changing its components would lower the risk of death.
- C-reactive protein
- Fasting triglycerides
- C-reactive protein-triglyceride-glucose index
- Fasting glucose
- Humans
The paper
the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University
International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 12 Oct 2026
