Overview
- Researchers identified two previously unrecognized fat-distribution profiles—pancreatic-predominant and skinny fat—most strongly associated with gray matter loss, cognitive decline, accelerated brain aging, and higher neurological disease risk.
- The pancreatic-predominant group showed about a 30% pancreatic proton density fat fraction, roughly two to three times higher than other patterns and up to six times higher than lean individuals.
- High pancreatic fat often appeared without elevated liver fat, highlighting a distinct and clinically overlooked phenotype compared with fatty liver.
- The skinny fat profile featured a high fat burden across most regions except the liver and pancreas, tended to concentrate in the abdomen, and presented with modest average BMI but a higher fat-to-muscle ratio, especially in men.
- The data-driven classification leveraged quantitative MRI across 25,997 participants, with associations observed in both sexes, and the authors emphasized that findings are observational and warrant further research into cardiovascular, metabolic, and clinical implications.