Hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia, which are key components of the TyG index, activate macrophages and promote the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), driving chronic low-grade systemic inflammation (Chen et al., 2025). Here, TNF is linked to hypertriglyceridemia.