Consumption of two meals per day is associated with increased intrapancreatic fat deposition in patients with type 2 diabetes: a retrospective study

Introduction This study aimed to identify the associations between lifestyle factors and intrapancreatic fat deposition in patients with type 2 diabetes. Research design and methods The participants were 185 patients with type 2 diabetes who were hospitalized at Osaka University Hospital between 2008 and 2020 and underwent abdominal CT during hospitalization. Information regarding lifestyle factors, including the number of meals consumed per day, snacking habits, exercise habits, exercise at work, smoking habits, alcohol intake, insomnia, sleep apnea syndrome, and night-shift working, was acquired from self-administered questionnaires or medical records. We measured the mean CT values for the pancreas (P), liver (L), and spleen (S), and the visceral fat area (VFA), and quantified intrapancreatic and liver ectopic fat accumulation as P−S and L−S, respectively. Results After adjustment for age, sex, hemoglobin A1c, and body mass index (BMI), participants who consumed two meals per day had significantly lower P−S (higher intrapancreatic fat deposition, p=0.02) than those who consumed three meals per day. There were no significant associations between the number of meals consumed and liver ectopic fat accumulation and VFA (p=0.73 and p=0.67, respectively). Conclusions Patients with diabetes who consumed two meals per day showed greater intrapancreatic fat deposition than those who consumed three meals per day, even after adjustment for BMI. These findings support the current guideline for diabetes treatment that skipping meals should be avoided.