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Normal pancreatic volume in adults is influenced by visceral fat, vertebral body width and age

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Abstract

Objectives

The aim was to describe the pancreatic volume (PV) in a cohort of subjects with no prior history of pancreatic disease, and to explore the relationship between PV and conventional two-point measurements of the pancreas. Associations between PV, gender, age, abdominal body composition, and human height were explored as well.

Methods

CT scans from 204 trauma patients (20–80 years, 100 males) were evaluated. PV was measured with semi-automatic segmentation. Standardized two-point measurements of the pancreas were obtained together with L1 vertebral body size (a proxy for human height) and abdominal body composition. Associations between PV and the other parameters were explored using uni- and multivariate linear regression.

Results

The mean PV was 77.9 ± 21.7(SD) cm3 with an interindividual variability from 18.8 to 139.8 cm3. The transversal diameter of the pancreatic head showed the strongest correlation to PV (r = 0.500, p < 0.001). Age, width of the L1 vertebral body, and visceral fat cross-sectional area were all independently associated with PV (all p < 0.001), while no independent association was seen for gender (p = 0.441).

Conclusions

The pancreatic volume is subject to a large interindividual variability and is associated with age, human height and body composition, while gender had no independent influence on the pancreatic volume. Thus, future studies using PV as an outcome parameter should be evaluated in the context of anthropometric profiles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    Johannes Peter Kipp & Jens Brøndum Frøkjær

  2. Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Centre for Pancreatic Disease, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    Søren Schou Olesen, Lida Changiziyan Frederiksen & Asbjørn Mohr Drewes

  3. Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Søren Schou Olesen, Asbjørn Mohr Drewes & Jens Brøndum Frøkjær

  4. Mech-Sense, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    Esben Bolvig Mark & Asbjørn Mohr Drewes

  5. Mech-Sense, Department of Radiology, Aalborg University Hospital, P.O. Box 365, 9100, Aalborg, Denmark

    Jens Brøndum Frøkjær

Authors
  1. Johannes Peter Kipp
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  2. Søren Schou Olesen
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Correspondence to Jens Brøndum Frøkjær.

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Kipp, J.P., Olesen, S.S., Mark, E.B. et al. Normal pancreatic volume in adults is influenced by visceral fat, vertebral body width and age. Abdom Radiol 44, 958–966 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-018-1793-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-018-1793-8

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