Liver imaging

Liver fat accumulation is assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at the 16-year follow-up of the PANIC Study. These non-invasive methods enable quantitative assessment of hepatic fat content and identification of liver steatosis. The imaging data, combined with circulating biomarkers of glucose and lipid metabolism, liver enzyme activities, metabolomic profiles, and molecular analyses of subcutaneous adipose tissue, will be used to investigate mechanisms linking adipose tissue dysfunction to hepatic fat accumulation. These analyses aim to improve our understanding of adipose tissue–liver crosstalk and the early development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).