MRI assessment of ectopic fat accumulation in pancreas, liver and skeletal muscle in patients with obesity, overweight and normal BMI in correlation with the presence of central obesity and metabolic syndrome
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Purpose: Obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 30 kg/m 2 , is a serious health problem, which can be called an epidemic on a global scale and is one of the most important causes of preventable death. The aim of this study was to assess ectopic fat accumulation in pancreas, liver and skeletal muscle in patients with obesity, overweight and normal BMI in correlation with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Patients and methods: The study included 267 consecutive patients who underwent a standard clinical assessment with BMI calculation. Ectopic fat accumulation in pancreas, liver, and skeletal muscle was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using fat–water separated Dixon imaging. MetS was defined according to the criteria modified by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III Guidelines. Central obesity was defined using gender and ethnic-specific values for waist circumference. Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between the degree of steatosis of the assessed organs and BMI value as well as waist circumference ratio, that determined the degree of central obesity. It was found that the most rapid relative fat accumulation was in muscle, then in pancreas and then in liver. Higher steatosis of pancreas, liver, and muscle was demonstrated depending on the number of the satisfied MetS criteria. Conclusion: Knowing that pancreatic fatty disease is a risk factor for MetS, it seems that assessment and monitoring of ectopic fat accumulation may have important clinical implications and may be used in the prediction of metabolic risk and its early prevention. Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, obesity, pancreatic steatosis, liver steatosis, metabolic syndrome, fat fraction
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Excess lipids are thought to 'spill over' to other tissues, especially the skeletal muscles, which accumulate the lipids as intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), intramuscular adipose tissue and intramyocellular lipid droplets (IMCLs) containing triacylglycerol or fatty acid derivatives such as diacylglycerols (DAG), long chain acyl CoAs, and ceramides.
“Excess lipids are thought to ‘spill over’ to other tissues, especially the skeletal muscles,[ 35 ] which accumulate the lipids as intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), intramuscular adipose tissue and intramyocellular lipid droplets (IMCLs) containing triacylglycerol or fatty acid derivatives such as diacylglycerols (DAG), long chain acyl CoAs, and ceramides.[ 36 ]”
From Pathogenesis of sarcopenia and the relationship with fat mass: descriptive review (2022) · cites this paper as [35]
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References 54 · Cited by 57
- Authors
- Pienkowska, J., Brzeska, B., Kaszubowski, M., Kozak, O., Jankowska, A., & Szurowska, E.
- Affiliations
- Gdańsk Medical University (PL)
- Gdańsk University of Technology (PL)
- University Clinical Centre (PL)
- Corresponding author
- Pienkowska, Joanna
- ORCID
- Venue
- Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-05
- Volume
- Volume 12
- Pages
- 623-636
- ISSN
- 1178-7007 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6506015
- OpenAlex
- W2942759755
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 3.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Dove Medical Press (Taylor and Francis Group) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Disease and Adiposity
- Keywords
- ectopic fat deposition, obesity, overweight, normal body mass index, abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome, pancreatic steatosis, hepatic steatosis, skeletal muscle fat, Dixon fat-water imaging, waist circumference, fat fraction
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