Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41965599›Full record

ArticleBMC medical imaging2026

Pancreatic fat deposition as a mediator of adrenal gland volume and type 2 diabetes: evidence from MRI.

Qinhe Zhang, Ziting Zhang, Siqi Wang, Yuhui Liu, Liangjie Lin, Jing Peng, Ailian Liu

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Article in BMC medical imaging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Qinhe Zhang *Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Ziting Zhang *College of Medical Imaging, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Siqi WangDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Yuhui LiuCollege of Medical Imaging, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Liangjie LinClinical and Technical Support, Philips Healthcare, Beijing, China.
Jing PengClinical and Technical Support, Philips Healthcare, Beijing, China.
Ailian LiuDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China. liuailian@dmu.edu.cn.

Funding

Dalian Science and Technology Talent Innovation SupportPlan 2024RQ94Department of Science and Technology of Liaoning Province 2025-MSLH-199
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo assess the role of body composition mediating the association between MRI-quantified adrenal gland volume (AGV) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to clarify the underlying mechanisms involved.

methodsThis retrospective study analyzed 239 hospitalized patients (54 T2DM, 185 non-T2DM) with abdominal MRI. AGV was manually segmented on T1-weighted images. Body composition parameters, including subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area and fat fraction (FF), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area and FF, hepatic FF (HFF), pancreatic FF (PFF), and abdominal muscle (AM) area and FF, were quantified using MRI fat fraction mapping.

resultsAfter adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, and BMI, mediation analysis showed that PFF partially mediated the association between AGV and T2DM (OR = 1.036, 95% CI: 1.009–1.101), accounting for 8.7% of the total effect. Multivariate analysis identified both AGV (OR: 1.475, 95% CI: 1.235–1.762) and PFF (OR: 1.069, 95% CI: 1.023–1.116) as independent factors associated with T2DM. ROC analysis showed AUCs of 0.792 for AGV and 0.803 for PFF in differentiating T2DM. The combined AGV + PFF model achieved an AUC of 0.836 (95% CI: 0.779–0.894).

conclusionMRI-quantified AGV and PFF demonstrate potential as biomarkers for T2DM. Pancreatic fat deposition partially mediates the link between adrenal enlargement and T2DM, suggesting a novel pathway involving HPA axis dysregulation and ectopic fat deposition.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueAdrenal GlandsDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Magnetic Resonance ImagingPancreasAgedBody CompositionFemaleHumansIntra-Abdominal FatMaleMiddle AgedOrgan SizeRetrospective StudiesAdrenal gland volumeHypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axisMagnetic resonance imagingPancreatic fatType 2 diabetes mellitus

Identifiers

PMID41965599
PMCPMC13224503

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.