This study investigated whether lean patients (Ln) with T2D exhibit increased ectopic and visceral fat deposition and whether these are linked to cardiac and hepatic changes.
Twenty-seven obese patients (Ob) with T2D, 15 Ln-T2D, and 12 normal-weight control subjects were studied. Subjects underwent cardiac computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), proton and phosphorus MR spectroscopy, and multiparametric liver MR, including hepatic proton MRS, T1- and T2*-mapping yielding “iron-corrected T1” [cT1].
Diabetes, with or without obesity, was associated with increased myocardial triglyceride content (p = 0.01), increased hepatic triglyceride content (p = 0.04), and impaired myocardial energetics (p = 0.04). Although cardiac structural changes, steatosis, and energetics were similar between the T2D groups, epicardial fat (p = 0.04), hepatic triglyceride (p = 0.01), and insulin resistance (p = 0.03) were higher in Ob-T2D. Epicardial fat, hepatic triglyceride, and insulin resistance correlated negatively with systolic strain and diastolic strain rates, which were only significantly impaired in Ob-T2D (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). Fibroinflammatory liver disease (elevated cT1) was only evident in Ob-T2D patients. cT1 correlated with hepatic and epicardial fat (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01, respectively).
Irrespective of body mass index, diabetes is related to significant abnormalities in cardiac structure, energetics, and cardiac and hepatic steatosis. Obese patients with T2D show a greater propensity for ectopic and visceral fat deposition.