Association of urinary volatile organic compounds and chronic kidney disease in patients with diabetes: real-world evidence from the NHANES

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are widespread pollutants that may impact DM development.

This study aims to explore the association between urinary VOC metabolites and CKD in patients with DM.

Adult National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011 to 2018 participants with DM were included in this study. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² or urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) ≥ 30 mg/g. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze the associations between urinary VOC metabolites and CKD.

A total of 1,295 participants with DM and a mean age of 59 years were included. After adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics, elevated levels of N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)-L-cysteine (AAMA) (tertile 2: adjusted odds ratio (aOR)  =   1.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15–2.85, p  =  0.012), N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)-L-cysteine (AMCC) (tertile 2: aOR   =  1.84, 95% CI: 1.10–3.08, p  =  0.021), DHBMA (tertile 3: aOR  =  1.93, 95% CI: 1.12–3.35, p  =   0.020), and phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA) (tertile 3: aOR   =  1.71, 95% CI: 1.11–2.63, p  =  0.017) were significantly associated with increased likelihood of CKD.

Specific urinary VOC metabolite levels are positively associated with an increased risk of CKD in patients with DM. These findings suggest that monitoring urinary VOC metabolites could be important for the prevention and management of CKD in this population. Future longitudinal studies should focus on establishing causality and elucidating the underlying mechanisms of these associations.