Comparison of brown and white adipose tissues in infants and children with chemical‐shift‐encoded water‐fat MRI

Abstract

To compare fat-signal fractions (FFs) and T2* values between brown (BAT) and white (WAT) adipose tissue located within the supraclavicular fossa and subcutaneous depots, respectively. Twelve infants and 39 children were studied. Children were divided into lean and overweight/obese subgroups. Chemical-shift-encoded water-fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to quantify FFs and T2* metrics in the supraclavicular and adjacent subcutaneous adipose tissue depots. Linear regression and t-tests were performed. Infants had lower supraclavicular FFs than children (P < 0.01) but T2* values were similar (P = 0.5). Lean children exhibited lower supraclavicular FFs and T2* values than overweight children (P < 0.01). In each individual infant and child, supraclavicular FFs were consistently lower than adjacent subcutaneous FFs. Supraclavicular T2* values were consistently lower than subcutaneous T2* values in children, but not in infants. FFs in both depots were positively correlated with age and weight in infants (P < 0.01). In children, they were correlated with weight and body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.01), but not age. Correlations between T2* and anthropometric variables existed in children (P < 0.01), but were absent in infants. Cross-sectional comparisons suggest variations in FF and T2* values in the supraclavicular and subcutaneous depots of infants and children, which are potentially indicative of physiological differences in adipose tissue fat content, amount, and metabolic activity.