Catriona A. Syme1, Greg D. Wells1,2,
Garry Detzler1, Hai-Ling Margaret Cheng1,2, Mike D.
Noseworthy3,4, Timo Schirmer5, Brian W. McCrindle,
2,6, Jill Hamilton, 27
1Physiology & Experimental
Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; 2University
of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; 3Electrical and Computer
Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 4Brain-Body
Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 5Applied
Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Munich, Germany; 6Cardiology,
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; 7Endocrinology,
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
In
overweight youth, pancreatic and hepatic fat (PF and HF) were estimated from
in- and out-of-phase MRI, and associations with metabolic parameters were
assessed. Both showed positive correlations with triglycerides and insulin
resistance and secretion. HF did not correlate with liver enzymes, suggesting
its early accumulation may influence glucose metabolism before elevation of
hepatic transaminases. Lack of associations between intra-abdominal fat or
body mass index z-score and these metabolic parameters highlight the
importance of fat distribution rather than fat quantity alone. The current
study reveals the potential to index simultaneously ectopic fat in two organs
important for glucose and lipid metabolism.