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Exhaled volatile substances in children suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus: results from a cross-sectional study

Phillip Trefz1, Juliane Obermeier2, Ruth Lehbrink3

  • 1Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Rostock Medical Breath Research Analytics and Technologies (ROMBAT), Rostock University Medical Centre, Rostock, Germany. phillip.trefz@uni-rostock.de.

Scientific Reports
|November 2, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Analyzing exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) offers a non-invasive method to monitor type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children. T1DM patients show distinct VOC profiles, especially those with poor metabolic control.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Pediatrics
  • Analytical Chemistry

Background:

  • Monitoring metabolic adaptation in pediatric type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is complex.
  • Exhaled breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present a promising, non-invasive diagnostic tool.
  • Limited data exists on breath VOC profiles in children with T1DM.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantitatively analyze exhaled VOCs in children with T1DM compared to healthy controls.
  • To investigate the relationship between VOC profiles and disease characteristics like duration, insulin delivery method, and metabolic control.
  • To assess the potential of breath analysis for early detection of metabolic changes in T1DM.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 53 children with T1DM and 60 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.
  • Quantitative analysis of exhaled VOCs using proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF).
  • Classification of T1DM patients based on disease duration, insulin delivery mode, and HbA1c levels.

Main Results:

  • Significant differences in exhaled VOC concentrations were observed between T1DM patients and healthy children.
  • T1DM patients exhibited higher levels of ethanol, isopropanol, dimethylsulfide, isoprene, and pentanal.
  • The most pronounced VOC concentration differences were found in T1DM patients with poor metabolic control (HbA1c > 8%).

Conclusions:

  • Non-invasive breath testing using VOC analysis is a viable tool for pediatric T1DM research.
  • Breath VOC profiling can reveal metabolic adaptations and alterations in early-stage T1DM.
  • This method may aid in understanding T1DM pathophysiology and monitoring disease progression.

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