1. Impact of body fat composition on liver iron overload severity in hemochromatosis: a retrospective MRI analysis.
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Pušeljić M, Stadlbauer V, Ahmadova N, Pohl M, Kopetzky M, Kaufmann-Bühler AK, Watzinger N, Igrec J, Fuchsjäger M, and Talakić E
- Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between ectopic adipose tissue and iron overload severity in patients with hemochromatosis., Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort of 52 patients who underwent liver iron concentration quantification from January 2015 to October 2023 using a 3.0T MRI scanner. R2* relaxation times and proton density fat fraction (PDFF) were assessed for the entire liver volume and a specific region of interest (ROI) placed in the right lobe. Total body fat (TF), subcutaneous fat (SCF), intermuscular fat (IMF), and visceral fat (VSF) percentages were calculated from a single axial slice at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Additionally, ratios of IMF-to-VSF, IMF-to-SCF, and SCF-to-VSF were calculated. Standard iron laboratory parameters were collected at least one month prior to MRI. Pearson correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis., Results: The mean age of participants was 53.9 ± 19.6 years. IMF positively correlated with R2* values in the ROI (p = 0.005, r
s = 0.382) and entire liver (p = 0.016, rs = 0.332). Conversely, VSF negatively correlated with R2* values from the ROI (p = < 0.001, rs = - 0.488) and entire liver (p = < 0.001, rs = - 0.459). Positive correlations were also found between IMF-to-VSF and R2* of the ROI (p = 0.003, rs = 0.400) and whole liver (p = 0.008, rs = 0.364). Ferritin levels positively correlated with R2* values calculated from ROI (p = 0.002, rs = 0.417) and whole liver volume (p = 0.004, rs = 0.397). A positive correlation was noted between PDFF of the entire liver and TF (p = 0.024, rs = 0.313)., Conclusion: The percentage of Intermuscular and visceral adipose tissues correlates with the severity of liver iron overload in hemochromatosis patients., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethics approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of University of Graz (31.10.2023 / EK-Number 35-346 ex 22/23). The need for written informed consent was waived., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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