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The Relationship between Patients’ Serum Glucose Levels and Metabolically Active Brown Adipose Tissue Detected by PET/CT

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Abstract

Purpose

To compare blood glucose levels in patients with or without “detectable” brown adipose tissue (BAT) using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT).

Procedures

Nine hundred eight patients had PET/CT scans and were previously identified as having, or not having, FDG uptake in BAT. The original database was retrospectively reviewed for blood glucose level and body mass index (BMI) at the time of imaging. Blood glucose levels were compared between patients with or without FDG uptake in BAT, adjusting for age, sex, and BMI.

Results

Fifty-six patients (6.2%) had FDG uptake in BAT. In the univariate analysis, patients without FDG uptake in BAT had a higher risk of glucose ≥100 mg/dL (odds ratio 3.4, 95% CI = 1.6-7.3; P = 0.0007). After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and significant interaction of sex and BMI, patients without BAT tended to have a higher risk of glucose ≥100 mg/dL, although not statistically significant (odds ratio = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.7-3.6; P = 0.268).

Conclusions

Although causal relationships are not specified, the data suggest that BAT uptake, glucose levels, BMI, sex, and age are inter-related and the possibility that presence of “detectable” BAT is protective against diabetes and obesity. FDG PET/CT may be a vital tool for further investigations of diabetes and obesity.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Richard L. Wahl

    Present address: Departement de Médecine Nucléaire, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada, 3840 St-Urbain, H2W 1T8

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 601 North Caroline Street, JHOC 3223, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Heather A. Jacene, Christian C. Cohade & Richard L. Wahl

  2. Departement de Médecine Nucléaire, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada, 3840 St-Urbain, H2W 1T8

    Christian C. Cohade

  3. Division of Oncology Biostatistics, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Zhe Zhang

Authors
  1. Heather A. Jacene
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  2. Christian C. Cohade
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  3. Zhe Zhang
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  4. Richard L. Wahl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard L. Wahl.

Additional information

Significance:

This paper demonstrates that FDG PET/CT may be a vital tool for further investigations of diabetes and obesity and the possibility that the presence of “detectable” BAT is protective against diabetes and obesity.

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Jacene, H.A., Cohade, C.C., Zhang, Z. et al. The Relationship between Patients’ Serum Glucose Levels and Metabolically Active Brown Adipose Tissue Detected by PET/CT. Mol Imaging Biol 13, 1278–1283 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-010-0379-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-010-0379-9

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