Transabdominal ultrasonography of the pancreas is superior to that of the liver for detection of ectopic fat deposits resulting from metabolic syndrome

The aim of our study was to investigate the rate of nonalcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD) in the south China province of Fujian and its relationship to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic parameters. NAFPD is frequently identified on transabdominal ultrasound examination. The incidence of NAFPD varies from 16% to 69.7% depending on the country. A total of 256 subjects were recruited. Each was assessed by abdominal sonography to diagnose NAFLD and NAFPD. The ages, sexes, heights, weights, blood pressure, and detection of peripheral blood biochemical indices (cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL], and glucose) were recorded. The relationships among metabolic parameters and NAFPD or NAFLD were evaluated, and the positive rates of NAFLD and NAFPD in the general population were compared. The age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, and glucose were significantly associated with NAFPD and NAFLD but the positive rate of NAFPD was significantly higher than that of NAFLD. The BMI, age, and NAFLD were the independent risk factors of NAFPD. The sex distribution, weight, SBP, DBP, BMI, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, glucose, cholesterol, NAFPD, and NAFLD were different significantly between metabolic syndrome and normal subjects. NAFPD and NAFLD can reflect the body metabolism, but NAFPD has a higher detection rate.