According to a new pilot study conducted by scientists at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK, a deep breath could become stress-detector.
Scientists at Loughborough University say there are six markers in the breath that could be candidates for use as indicators of stress (Greenville.edu)
“If we can measure stress objectively in a non-invasive way, then it may benefit patients and vulnerable people in long-term care who find it difficult to disclose stress responses to their carers, such as those suffering from Alzheimer’s,” said Prof Paul Thomas.
The study, reported in the Journal of Breath Research, involved 22 young adults (10 male and 12 female) who each took part in two sessions. In the first, they were asked to sit comfortably and listen to non-stressful music. In the second, they were asked to perform a common mental arithmetic test that has been designed to induce stress.
A breath test was taken before and after each session, whilst heart-rates and blood pressures were recorded throughout.
The breath samples were examined using a technique known as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and then statistically analyzed and compared to a library of compounds.
Two compounds in the breath – 2-methylpentadecane and indole – increased following the stress exercise which, if confirmed, the researchers believe could form the basis of a rapid test.
A further four compounds were shown to decrease with stress, which could be due to changes in breathing patterns.
“What is clear from this study is that we were not able to discount stress. It seems sensible and prudent to test this work with more people over a range of ages in more normal settings,” Prof Thomas said.
“We will need to think carefully about experimental design in order to explore this potential relationship further as there are ethical issues to consider when deliberately placing volunteers under stress. Any follow up study would need to be led by experts in stress.”
Breath profiling has become an attractive diagnostic method for clinicians and most recently researchers have found biomarkers associated with tuberculosis, multiple cancers, pulmonary disease and asthma. It is still unclear how to best manage external factors, such as diet, environment and exercise, which can affect a person’s breath sample.
“It is possible that stress markers in the breath could mask or confound other key compounds that are used to diagnose a certain disease or condition, so it is important that these are accounted for.”
The researchers hope that the findings could lead to a quick, simple and non-invasive test for measuring stress; however, the study, which involved just 22 subjects, would need to be scaled-up to include more people, over a wider range of ages and in more ‘normal’ settings, before any concrete conclusions can be made.
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Bibliographic information: M A Turner et al. 2013. The effect of a paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) intervention on the profile of volatile organic compounds in human breath: a pilot study. J. Breath Res. 7, 017102; doi: 10.1088/1752-7155/7/1/017102
