Diagnostic Potential of Volatile Organic Compounds in Detecting Insulin Resistance Among Taiwanese Women

TL;DR

The study explores how breath compounds can help detect insulin resistance in Taiwanese women using machine learning and SHAP analysis.

Contribution

The novel use of machine learning and SHAP to identify and interpret VOCs related to insulin resistance in a Taiwanese female population.

Findings

Six VOCs were identified as important for diagnosing insulin resistance.

SHAP analysis revealed positive and negative correlations of VOCs with HOMA-IR.

Dimethylfuran, propanamine, aniline, butoxyethanol, and isopropyltoluene are key diagnostic indicators.

Abstract

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) is an underlying pathophysiology for type 2 diabetes (T2D). The Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) is the simplest method for evaluating IR. At the same time, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected in human respiration can be correlated with specific diseases. To date, machine learning (Mach-L) has yet to be used to examine potential relationships between VOCs and IR. The present study has two aims: (1) to identify the VOCs most relevant to HOMA-IR, and (2) to use Shapley addictive explanation (SHAP) to determine the impacts of the distributions and directions of each feature in Taiwanese women. Methods: A total of 1432 Taiwanese women between the ages of 19 and 84 years were enrolled, and 344 VOCs were measured. Traditional multiple linear regression (MLR) was used as a benchmark for comparison, applying three Mach-L methods. Finally, SHAP was used to evaluate the directions of impacts of the features on HOMA-IR. Results: Six VOCs were identified as important: dimethylfuran, propanamine, aniline, butoxyethanol, and isopropyltoluene, in order from most to least important. SHAP found that dimethylfuran, isopropyltoluene, and dodecane were positively correlated to HOMA-IR, while butoxyethanol, aniline, and propanamine were negatively correlated. Conclusions: Using three different Mach-L methods, six VOCs were selected to be related to IR in Taiwanese women. According to their importance, dimethylfuran, propanamine, aniline, butoxyethanol, and isopropyltoluene could be used to help diagnose HOMA-IR. Furthermore, by using SHAP, dimethylfuran, isopropyltoluene, and dodecane had a positive and the other three had a negative influence.

Figures