ADA 2024: Beyond Size Matters—The Impact of Pancreatic Volume and Pancreatic Fat on Type 2 Diabetes
Individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) might have a smaller pancreas, although it is unclear whether this was a result of the illness itself or if the smaller pancreas was the cause of the diabetes.
The researchers examined the link between the size of the pancreas and the risk of T2DM, as well as whether the quantity of fat in the pancreas influences this relationship. A study was done which analysed magnetic resonance imaging data from 25,389 UK Biobank participants, dividing them into four categories based on median pancreas volume (60 cm3) and fat content (8%).
The odds ratios for having T2DM were computed using logistic regression. A separate 6-year case-cohort investigation in an independent Japanese cohort using computed tomography during check-ups was also conducted.
Weighted-Cox regression determined hazard ratios (HRs) for new type 2 diabetes cases among 658 randomly chosen subjects and 146 T2DM incidents from 2,168 non-diabetic individuals. Age, gender, BMI, amount of alcohol consumed each day, status of current smoking, liver fat, and visceral adiposity were all considered in this study.
T2DM risk varied across pancreas types.UK Biobank research revealed that people with smaller pancreases containing more fat faced the greatest risk of developing T2DM compared to others. Compared to large/low-fat pancreases, small/high-fat ones showed OR of 1.63 (1.36-1.97), large/high-fat showed OR of 1.09 (0.89-1.33) and small/low-fat showed OR of 1.08 (0.85-1.37).
A Japanese follow-up study over 6.27 years confirmed these findings. Small/high-fat pancreases had HRs 3.12 (1.40-6.96) and large/high-fat pancreases showed HRs1.00 (0.59-1.69) and small/low-fat pancreases showed HRs 0.74 (0.26-2.14).
This concluded that T2DM is more likely to occur in patients with fat accumulated small size pancreas. This could be a novel target for preventive therapeutics in future.
345-OR: American Diabetes Association (ADA) 84th Scientific Sessions, 2024, 21- 24 June 2024, Orlando, Florida.
