Metabolic implications of hepatic, pancreatic and abdominal adipose tissue depots in Asian Indians across normoglycaemia, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes
Authors' conclusion
Asian Indians living with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes at a modestly increased BMI of approximately 25 kg/m2 exhibit marked ectopic fat. The fat fraction in the liver independently predicted dysglycaemia.
Study context
- Population
- Asian Indian adults with matched BMI across glycaemic categories; liver and pancreas proton density fat fraction (PDFF) by multi-echo chemical-shift-encoded MRI (CSE-MRI), abdominal fat by MRI, body fat by DXA, HOMA indicesBMI-matched
- Participants
- 45 adults
- Exposure
- Prediabetes and T2D vs normoglycaemia
- Normoglycaemian = 15reference
- Prediabetesn = 15
- T2Dn = 15
- Outcome
- Hepatic fat fraction (HFF)
Methodological detailsBMI-matched
- BMI-matched
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prediabetes vs Normoglycaemia: P = 0.009 · T2D vs Normoglycaemia: P = 0.026
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Pancreatic fat fraction — Prediabetes and T2D vs Normoglycaemia
P < 0.05
- Abdominal fat compartments · Prediabetes and T2D vs Normoglycaemia
- P < 0.05
- Abdominal fat compartments · Prediabetes vs T2D · Superficial and posterior subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT) significantly higher
- P < 0.05
- Abdominal fat compartments: Intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT), superficial SCAT, posterior SCAT and retroperitoneal adipose tissue significantly higher
Predictors of dysglycaemia (adjusted for age and BMI)
- Only liver fat fraction remained an independent predictor of dysglycaemia: OR per 1% increase (p=0.023)
- 1.11
- Each 1% increase in liver fat fraction increased odds of prediabetes
- 16%
- Each 1% increase in liver fat fraction increased odds of overall dysglycaemia
- 11%
HOMA-β
- HOMA-β preserved or elevated in prediabetes but decreased in T2D
Original publication
Metabolic implications of hepatic, pancreatic and abdominal adipose tissue depots in Asian Indians across normoglycaemia, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. Published 1 August 2026. doi:10.
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