Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging of Normal Pancreas in Children and Adults; Relation of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Values with Age and Gender

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to evaluate the healthy pancreas with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in children and adults and demonstrate the changes of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values related to age and gender.
METHODS: Eighty-five patients, who did not have pancreas disease, were included in the study. The patients were divided into four groups according to their ages (0–20 years; 21–40 years; 41–60 years; ≥61 years). Diffusion-weighted images were obtained in the axial plane, with three different b-values (b=0; b=50 and b=400 s/mm2) and ADC maps were calculated automatically. On the ADC maps, three separate ADC values were calculated for each region (head, body, and tail) with the free-hand technique using the “region of interest”. Then, the mean values were calculated. The mean ADC values of the pancreatic head, body, and tail were used for the calculation of the total ADC value. The effect of age and gender on ADC values was determined by one-way ANOVA analysis and independent sample t-test, respectively.
RESULTS: The mean pancreatic total ADC value was higher in 0–20 years and ≥61 age groups compared to other age groups. In addition, the ADC values of the pancreatic head in the 0–20 age group were found to be statistically significantly higher compared to those of 21–40 and 41–60 age groups. There was no correlation between mean pancreatic total, head, corpus, and tail ADC values and gender.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that age has an effect on pancreatic ADC values, nevertheless gender has no effect on ADC values. The mean ADC values by age and gender may be useful in diagnosing diseases and can be used as a reference for the future studies.