No Correlation of Pancreatic Fat and β-Cell Function in Young Women With and Without a History of Gestational Diabetes.

Abstract

Pancreatic steatosis may contribute to β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes (T2D), but data are controversial. Women who had gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at high risk for developing T2D. To examine the association of pancreatic fat content with early/first-phase insulin secretion (as markers of β-cell function). Cross-sectional analysis of a subcohort of the monocentric, prospective cohort study titled Prediction, Prevention, and Subclassification of Type 2 Diabetes. Ludwig Maximilians University Hospital, Munich, Germany. Ninety-seven women, 3 to 16 months after pregnancy [41 normoglycemic women post-GDM, 19 women post-GDM with pathological glucose metabolism, and 37 normoglycemic women after a normoglycemic pregnancy (controls)]. Correlation of MRI-measured pancreatic fat content with early insulin release in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGGT) [insulin increment within the first 30 minutes of the OGTT (IR30)] and first-phase insulin response (FPIR) in an intravenous glucose tolerance test (n = 65), both adjusted for insulin sensitivity index (ISI). Pancreatic fat content did not correlate with IR30 and FPIR adjusted for ISI. It correlated positively with body mass index, waist circumference, liver fat, and intraabdominal fat volume. Pancreatic fat content does not correlate with β-cell function in a cohort of young women with different degrees of T2D risk.