Pancreatic fat linked to higher heart failure risk
The highest third for pancreatic fat was linked to higher heart failure risk than the lowest third (hazard ratio 1.68, comparing rates over time).
13.6 years
A prospective observational study analysed 22,038 UK Biobank participants who initially had no heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump blood adequately. Researchers examined whether fat in the pancreas and liver, and total fat around internal organs, were linked to later heart failure. Over a median follow-up of 13.6 years, 282 participants developed the condition.
After accounting for established cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, pancreatic fat in the highest third was associated with higher heart failure risk than in the lowest third. Liver fat showed no association in these adjusted models. The pancreatic fat link remained after further adjustments, including pancreas size and inherited heart failure risk. The researchers suggested that pancreatic fat may add value to heart failure risk assessment.
Why it matters
For heart failure, an age-related disease, the study addressed whether the organ storing fat matters for assessing future risk.
Caveats
This observational study cannot show that pancreatic fat caused heart failure or that reducing it would prevent the condition.
From the paper
- Participants
A total of 22,038 participants were included.
- Follow-up
Across a median follow-up of 13.60 years, 282 participants (1.28%) experienced incident HF.
- Result
… participants in the highest tertile of pancreas PDFF and visceral fat volume had elevated HF risk compared with those in the lowest tertile (pancreas PDFF: HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.15–2.46; p = 0.007; visceral fat volume: HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.19–2.78; p = 0.005).
- Limitation
The cohort consisted mainly of middle-aged and older adults of European ancestry, so the findings may not directly generalize to populations with different ethnic backgrounds or age distributions.
Quoted word for word from the full text on PubMed Central.
- Lipid and ceramide metabolism
- Heart failure
- Hepatic fat
- HF polygenic risk score
- Intra-pancreatic fat deposition
- Humans
The paper
Jinan University
Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, 16 Sep 2026, Open access
