Excessive intrapancreatic fat deposition (IPFD) and fatty change of the pancreas (FP) are emerging as significant risk factors for diabetes, acute pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer. A recent prospective study published in ‘The American Journal of Gastroenterology’ has shed light on the connection between elevated IPFD and a heightened risk of both exocrine and endocrine pancreatic diseases.

      The study utilized data from the UK Biobank. IPFD was quantified using MRI and a deep learning-based framework called nnUNet. Researchers determined the prevalence of FP using sex- and age-specific thresholds. They then assessed associations between IPFD and pancreatic diseases through a multivariate Cox-proportional hazard model, adjusting for various factors including age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index, smoking and drinking status, central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, liver fat content, and spleen fat content.

      Among the 42,599 participants, 17.86% were found to have FP. Elevated IPFD levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of acute pancreatitis (hazard ratio [HR] per 1 quintile change 1.513, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.179–1.941), pancreatic cancer (HR per 1 quintile change 1.365, 95% CI 1.058–1.762), and diabetes mellitus (HR per 1 quintile change 1.221, 95% CI 1.132–1.318). Similarly, FP was linked to higher risks of acute pancreatitis (HR 3.982, 95% CI 2.192–7.234), pancreatic cancer (HR 1.976, 95% CI 1.054–3.704), and diabetes mellitus (HR 1.337, 95% CI 1.122–1.593, P = 0.001).

      "FP is a common pancreatic disorder. Fat in the pancreas is an independent risk factor for diseases of both the exocrine pancreas and endocrine pancreas," the authors opined.

      These findings underscore the importance of monitoring pancreatic fat levels and their potential impact on health, emphasizing the need for further research and preventive strategies to mitigate these risks.