Predictors of Ectopic Fat Accumulation in Liver and Pancreas in Obese Men and Women

The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between body fat distribution, adipocytokines, inflammatory markers, fat intake and ectopic fat content of liver and pancreas in obese men and women.A total of 12 lean subjects (mean age 47.25±14.88 years and mean BMI 22.85±2), 38 obese subjects (18 men and 20 women) with mean age 49.1±13.0 years and mean BMI 34.96±4.21 Kg/m2 were studied. Measurements: Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, as well as glucose, insulin, HOMA, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-Ch, Hs-CRP, daily energy intake, leptin and adiponectin. Magnetic resonance was used to evaluate visceral, subcutaneous adipose tissue as well as liver and pancreas lipid content using in-phase and out-of-phase MRI sequence.Obese subjects had significantly higher weight, waist circumference, SCAT, Deep SCAT, VAT, liver and pancreatic lipid content than lean subjects. Obese women had significantly lower VAT, liver and pancreas lipid content regardless same BMI. In multiple regression analyses, the variance of liver lipid content explained by gender and VAT was 46%. When HOMA was added into a multiple regression a small increase in the proportion of variance explained was observed. A 59.2% of the variance of pancreas lipid content was explained by gender and VAT.In conclusion obese men show higher VAT and ectopic fat deposition in liver and pancreas than obese women despite same BMI. Independently of overall adiposity, insulin resistance, adiponectin and fat intake, VAT, measured with MRI, is the main predictor of ectopic fat deposition in both liver and pancreas.