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Brown fat may influence type 2 diabetes risk in teens
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A positive association observed between brown adipose tissue and glucose tolerance in a cohort of adolescents with overweight or obesity suggests brown adipose tissue could play a role in glucose metabolism, potentially influencing the risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to findings published in Pediatric Obesity.
“By studying the associations between [brown adipose tissue] and adiposityrelated glucose metabolism, the possible involvement of this tissue in the development of diabetes could be elucidated,” Elin Lundström, MD, project coordinator in the department of surgical sciences, section of radiology, at Uppsala University, Sweden, and colleagues wrote in the study background. “Human [brown adipose tissue] is an insulinsensitive tissue with a glucose uptake rate similar to that of skeletal muscle under insulin stimulation. ... Despite research efforts in adult humans, in vivo imaging studies targeting the role of [brown adipose tissue] in glucose metabolism in children and adolescents are still limited.”
Lundström and colleagues analyzed data from 143 children and adolescents with overweight or obesity recruited from obesity specialist clinics in Uppsala, Sweden, and Salzburg, Austria, including 17 normal-weight controls (mean age, 14 years). Researchers estimated brown adipose tissue, assessed as cervical-supraclavicular tissue, fat fraction and T*2 (described as the joint effective transverse relaxation time for water and fat signals), via water-fat MRI. All participants also underwent an oral glucose tolerance test and puberty evaluation. Researchers investigated possible associations between MRI estimates of brown adipose tissue and glucose metabolism, adjusting for sex, age and adiposity.
Researchers found that brown adipose tissue fat fraction and T*2 correlated positively with adiposity, with results persisting after adjustment for sex and age. Brown adipose tissue fat fraction, but not T*2, correlated with measurements of 2-hour glucose and Matsuda index, also after adjustment for sex, age and adiposity. The association with 2-hour glucose values persisted after additional adjustment for subcutaneous adipose tissue fat fraction.
“Considering [suspected brown adipose tissue fat fraction] as an MRI estimate of [brown adipose tissue] and 2-hour glucose (inversely related to glucose tolerance) as an important diagnostic and research tool for diabetes, this result indicates a direct link between [brown adipose tissue] and glucose metabolism, which is not confounded by the burden of adiposity,” the researchers wrote. “The maintained significant association after additional adjustment for [back subcutaneous adipose tissue fat fraction], and implicitly [white adipose tissue fat fraction], strengthens this conclusion.”
The researchers noted that the novel observation of an association between brown adipose tissue fat fraction and 2-hour glucose in adolescents can contribute to brown adipose tissue research aiming for the prevention of obesity and metabolic disease. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosures: One study author reports he has received consultant fees from Novo Nordisk. Two other authors report they are co-founders of Antaros Medical, where they are also partially employed.
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