The single point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE) index as a predictor of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults

Purpose: Recently, the single-point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE) has been developed as a simple surrogate of insulin resistance based on BMI, triglycerides (TG), and HDL-C. However, no studies have focused on the predictive power of the SPISE index for identifying metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) in Korean adults. Here, this study aimed to estimate the predictive power of the SPISE index for determining MetSyn and to compare its predictive power with other insulin sensitivity/resistance indices in South Korean adults. Methods: A total of 7837 participants from the 2019 and 2020 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed in the present study. MetSyn was defined by the AHA/NCEP criteria. In addition, HOMA-IR, inverse insulin, TG/HDL, TyG index (triglyceride-glucose index), and SPISE index were calculated based on the previous literature. Results: Predictive power of the SPISE index for determining MetSyn (ROC-AUC [95 % CI] = 0.90 [0.90–0.91], sensitivity = 83.4 %, specificity = 82.2 %, cut-off point = 6.14, p < .001) was higher than that of HOMA-IR (ROC-AUC: 0.81), inverse insulin (ROC-AUC: 0.76), TG/HDL-C (ROC-AUC: 0.87), and TyG index (ROC-AUC: 0.88), the P value for ROC-AUC comparison < .001. Conclusion: SPISE index has demonstrated superior predictive value for diagnosing MetSyn regardless of sex and is strongly correlated with blood pressure compared with other surrogate indices of insulin resistance, attesting to its utility as a reliable indicator of insulin resistance and MetSyn in Korean adults.