Non-Alcoholic Fatty Pancreas Disease is Associated with Increased Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Aortic Intima-Media Thickness.

Abstract

We aimed to investigate whether non-alcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD) is associated with epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), which is a kind of ectopic fat accumulation, and aortic intima-media thickness (aIMT), which is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. Fifty-four patients with NAFPD (22 men; mean age: 52 ± 10 years) and 49 without NAFPD (16 men; mean age: 49 ± 8 years) were included in this study. NAFPD and aIMT were evaluated using transabdominal ultrasonography (TUS). EAT was evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography. EAT (6.09 ± 1.52 mm and 3.87 ± 1.31 mm, p < 0.001) and aIMT [1.12 (0.60-1.90) mm vs. 0.93 (0.50-1.44) mm, p < 0.001] were significantly higher in the NAFPD positive subjects, compared to the NAFPD negative subjects. Multivariate analysis showed that age (p = 0.016), body mass index (p = 0.004), and presence of NAFPD (p = 0.024) were associated with increased aIMT. In addition, multivariate analysis demonstrated that the presence of NAFPD (p < 0.001) was associated with increased EAT. The presence of NAFPD on TUS is associated with increased aIMT and EAT. Our study results may suggest that NAFPD may reflect subclinical atherosclerosis and may be a simple warning sign for physicians.