In a study focusing on the elderly, researchers sought to find new biomarkers for major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety, conditions that frequently occur in this demographic and significantly raise the risk of frailty. The study involved 639 participants from the community-dwelling Otassha Study, with a mean age of 75 and the majority being female. After applying exclusion criteria, urinary volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed from 18 individuals, including 9 healthy controls and 9 with MDD/agoraphobia, leading to the identification of six urinary VOCs that varied significantly between those with MDD/agoraphobia and the control group.

Remarkably high area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) values were observed for several compounds, including phenethyl isothiocyanate, hexanoic acid, texanol, and a texanol isomer, suggesting their potential as reliable biomarkers. Furthermore, combined indices of dimethyl sulfone, phenethyl isothiocyanate, and hexanoic acid, as well as texanol and its isomer, demonstrated high AUC values. These combinations were also correlated with the GRID-HAMD score and the Kihon Checklist, respectively. This discovery indicates that these VOCs could serve as valuable tools for evaluating MDD and/or agoraphobia in the elderly population, offering a new approach to screening and potentially managing these conditions.

Reference: Fujita A, Ihara K, Kawai H, et al. A novel set of volatile urinary biomarkers for late-life major depressive and anxiety disorders upon the progression of frailty: a pilot study. Discov Ment Health. 2022;2(1):20. doi: 10.1007/s44192-022-00023-0.