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

Context: 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.

Objective: To examine the association of pancreatic fat content with early/first-phase insulin secretion (as markers of β-cell function).

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a subcohort of the monocentric, prospective cohort study titled Prediction, Prevention, and Subclassification of Type 2 Diabetes.

Setting: Ludwig Maximilians University Hospital, Munich, Germany.

Participants: 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)].

Main Outcome Measures: 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).

Results: 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.

Conclusion: Pancreatic fat content does not correlate with β-cell function in a cohort of young women with different degrees of T2D risk.