BackgroundThere is compelling evidence for an association between triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, data on the relationship between TyG-BMI and prehypertension (pre-HTN) or hypertension (HTN) remains scant. The aim of this study was to characterize the association between TyG-BMI and pre-HTN or HTN risk, and to assess the ability of TyG-BMI in predicting pre-HTN and HTN in Chinese and Japanese populations.MethodsA total of 214,493 participants were included in this study. The participants were divided into 5 groups based on quintiles of TyG-BMI index at baseline (Q1, Q2, Q3 Q4 and Q5). Logistic regression analysis was then employed to assess the relationship between TyG-BMI quintiles and pre-HTN or HTN. Results were presented as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsOur restricted cubic spline analysis showed that TyG-BMI was linearly correlated with both pre-HTN and HTN. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that TyG-BMI was independently correlated with pre-HTN [ORs and 95% CIs were 1.011 (1.011–1.012), 1.021 (1.02–1.023), 1.012 (1.012–1.012), respectively] and HTN [ORs and 95% CIs were 1.021 (1.02–1.021), 1.031 (1.028–1.033), 1.021 (1.02–1.021), respectively] in Chinese or Japanese individuals or both groups after adjusting for all variates. In addition, subgroup analyses showed that the relationship between TyG-BMI and pre-HTN or HTN was independent of age, sex, BMI, country, smoking and drinking status. Across all study populations, the areas under the TyG-BMI curve predicting pre-HTN and HTN were 0.667 and 0.762, respectively, resulting in cut-off values of 189.7 and 193.7, respectively.ConclusionOur analyses showed that TyG-BMI was independently correlated with both pre-HTN and HTN. Besides, TyG-BMI showed superior predictive power in predicting pre-HTN and HTN compared to TyG or BMI alone.