Pediatric brown adipose tissue: detection, epidemiology, and differences from adults

Area of Science:

• Nuclear medicine imaging
• Pediatric endocrinology
• Metabolic research

Background:

• Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a role in thermogenesis and energy expenditure.
• Understanding BAT prevalence and activity in pediatric populations is crucial for metabolic research.
• Positiron emission tomography (PET) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) is a key imaging modality for BAT detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in children and adolescents.
• To identify factors influencing BAT detection using (18)F-FDG PET.
• To explore the relationship between BAT activity and clinical parameters in pediatric patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 385 (18)F-FDG PET scans from 172 patients (aged 5-21 years).
• Visual assessment of BAT presence in the neck, thorax, and abdomen.
• Quantification of BAT activity by comparing cervical-supraclavicular depot uptake with liver uptake.

Main Results:

• BAT was detected in 43.3% of boys and 45.3% of girls, with no significant difference.
• Highest BAT prevalence and activity observed in the 13- to 14.99-year age group.
• Inverse correlation found between body mass index percentile and BAT activity (P = .012).

Conclusions:

• Active BAT is more frequently detected in children and adolescents than adults under clinical imaging conditions.
• BAT activity increases through adolescence and is inversely related to obesity.
• These findings highlight the significant role of BAT in pediatric metabolism.