The Close Link of Pancreatic Iron With Glucose Metabolism and With Cardiac Complications in Thalassemia Major: A Large, Multicenter Observational Study

We systematically explored the link of pancreatic iron with glucose metabolism and with cardiac complications in a cohort of 1,079 patients with thalassemia major (TM) enrolled in the Extension-Myocardial Iron Overload in Thalassemia (E-MIOT) project. MRI was used to quantify iron overload (T2* technique) and cardiac function (cine images) and to detect macroscopic myocardial fibrosis (late gadolinium enhancement technique). Glucose metabolism was assessed by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Patients with normal glucose metabolism showed significantly higher global pancreas T2* values than patients with impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and diabetes. A pancreas T2*