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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1493253

Higher oxidative balance score was associated with decreased risk of infertility: analyses of NHANES 2013-2020

Provisionally accepted
Mingjun Ma Mingjun Ma 1Huanying Xu Huanying Xu 1Kexin Wang Kexin Wang 1*Yanfen Chen Yanfen Chen 1Ting Pan Ting Pan 1,2*Qiaoling Zhu Qiaoling Zhu 1,2*
  • 1 Foshan Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, Foshan, China
  • 2 Department of Gynecology, Foshan Fosun Chancheng Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in female reproductive system. The oxidative balance score (OBS) is a new measure for assessing the balance between antioxidant and pro-oxidative factors in diet and lifestyle. However, limited studies have explored the relationship between OBS and infertility.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study including 2,664 women aged 20 to 45 years, based on data from the 2013-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The OBS was derived from 16 dietary components and 4 lifestyle factors. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to examine the association between OBS and infertility.Results: The analysis revealed a significant negative association between higher OBS and infertility risk, with an OR of 0.98 (95% CI, 0.95-1.00) after full adjustment. Compared with the first quartile of OBS, the second, third, and fourth quartiles showed ORs of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.45-1.11), 0.79 (95% CI, 0.51-1.22), and 0.57 (95% CI, 0.35-0.92), respectively. Similarly, women in the highest dietary OBS and lifestyle OBS quartiles had a lower infertility risk compared to those in the lowest quartiles, with ORs of 0.60 (95% CI, 0.39-0.94) and 0.54 (95% CI, 0.32-0.93), respectively. Furthermore, subgroup analysis indicated that the association between the fourth quartile of OBS and infertility remained consistent, except among women with other race-including multi-racial, and college graduate or above.Conclusion: These findings suggest that high dietary OBS and lifestyle OBS are associated with a lower risk of infertility.

    Keywords: Oxidative balance score, Female infertility, Dietary antioxidants, Oxidative Stress, NHANES

    Received: 08 Sep 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ma, Xu, Wang, Chen, Pan and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Kexin Wang, Foshan Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, Foshan, China
    Ting Pan, Foshan Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, Foshan, China
    Qiaoling Zhu, Foshan Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, Foshan, China

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