Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate if pancreatic steatosis measured by proton density fat fraction (PDFF) is associated with exocrine pancreatic function defined by fecal elastase concentrations.
Materials and methods: A total of 1458 volunteers (777 women; age range, 21-88 years) underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the pancreas, and organ fat content was quantified by using confounder corrected PDFF. Exocrine pancreatic function was categorized by fecal elastase levels using defined cutoffs: greater than 200 μg/g normal function (n = 1319) and 200 μg/g or less impaired function (n = 139). Statistical analysis to correlate pancreatic fat content with fecal elastase included linear regression, and analyses were adjusted for known confounders for pancreatic steatosis, such as age, sex, and body mass index.
Results: Overall mean (±standard deviation) of pancreatic fat content was 7.50% ± 3.78%. Pancreatic fat content was significantly higher in subjects with impaired pancreatic exocrine function (9.36% ± 4.95%) compared with subjects with normal function (7.30% ± 3.59%; P < 0.01). Linear regression analyses showed an inverse correlation between pancreatic fat and fecal elastase levels over the whole study population (beta, -7.19 [standard error, 1.39]; P < 0.01) as well as in the subgroup of subjects with normal function (-4.26 [1.32]; P < 0.01). Among subjects with impaired pancreatic exocrine function, a trend toward an inverse relation was detected (-1.28 [0.84]; P < 0.13).
Conclusions: An inverse correlation between PDFF of the pancreas and fecal elastase suggests an association between pancreatic steatosis and impaired pancreatic exocrine function.