Association of Obesity with Fatty Infiltration of the Pancreas Diagnosed at MRI

Ely Felker¹, Lorenzo Mannelli¹, Emilio Vega¹, Michael Bloom¹, Hersh Chandarana¹

In addition to being associated with several metabolic disturbances, such as insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus, obesity causes fat infiltration of several organs, including the heart, liver, and skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship between pancreatic fat infiltration and known markers of obesity. We showed that pancreatic fatty infiltration at MRI was significantly related to central fat volume, peripheral fat volume, and body mass index. Further study will enhance understanding of mechanisms that link obesity to its metabolic complications as well as, perhaps, provide an early marker for incipient insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.