URINARY volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may offer a non-invasive way to predict chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk, according to new findings from a national observational study using NHANES data.
In this analysis, researchers evaluated data from 782 adults participating in the 2013–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Their goal was to examine whether specific VOCs found in urine samples were associated with increased risk of COPD, a major respiratory condition influenced by both genetic and environmental exposures.
Seven urine VOCs were found to be significantly associated with COPD. All seven compounds had odds ratios greater than 1, indicating an increased likelihood of disease presence in individuals with elevated levels. The researchers also observed a clear dose-response relationship, suggesting that higher levels of these compounds correlated with greater disease risk.
Further analysis revealed that these VOCs may contribute to COPD development through inflammatory pathways. Although causality cannot be determined from observational data alone, the inflammation hypothesis adds biological plausibility to the association.
Notably, the diagnostic performance of a combined model using all seven urine VOCs was strong. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) reached 0.90, indicating high accuracy in differentiating between individuals with and without COPD.
These findings suggest that urinary VOCs could be developed as useful biomarkers for early COPD risk assessment. Because urine testing is non-invasive and relatively easy to perform, this approach could have clinical appeal for screening or monitoring high-risk individuals. However, the authors emphasize that further research is needed to validate the findings, explore the mechanistic links between VOCs and inflammation, and determine whether urine-based testing could be effectively integrated into COPD prevention strategies.
Reference:
Xie S et al. Urine volatile organic compounds in predicting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk in a national observational study. Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2025.doi: 10.1039/d5em00181a
