Noninvasive quantification of pancreatic fat in healthy male population using chemical shift magnetic resonance imaging: effect of aging on pancreatic fat content.

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to establish a database of pancreatic fat fractions for healthy men aged 20 to 70 years using double-echo chemical shift gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging.
METHODS: The double-echo chemical shift gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging technique was used in this study. A phantom of fat-water mixtures was established to test the accuracy of the sequence. In addition, 126 healthy male volunteers (20-70 years, body mass index ≤ 25) were enrolled. Fat content of the pancreas (head, body, and tail) was examined.
RESULTS: On the phantom, a significant positive linear correlation and linear regression was found between the calculated and actual fat fractions of fat emulsions. For volunteers, there was no significant difference regarding fat fractions among the 3 regions of pancreata in each age group (P > 0.05). Pancreatic fat fraction (6.32% ± 1.18%) of healthy men aged 50 to 70 years was approximately 1-fold higher than that (2.8% ± 0.66%) of those aged 20 to 50 years (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: Double-echo chemical shift gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging is useful for quantifying pancreatic fat fraction. This noninvasive technique has revealed (1) an even distribution of pancreatic fat in healthy men, (2) aging as an independent risk factor for pancreatic steatosis, and (3) the increase in pancreatic fat fraction beginning in the fifth decade.