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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1539969
This article is part of the Research Topic Impact of Oxidation on Nutrition: Source, Absorption and Health Effects View all 3 articles

Association between oxidative balance score and gallstone disease: a population-based study from NHANES

Provisionally accepted
Mengmeng Zhang Mengmeng Zhang Aiming Yang Aiming Yang *
  • Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China

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

    Background Oxidative stress has been reported to participant in the pathogenesis of gallstones. Oxidative balance score (OBS) represents pro-oxidant and antioxidant exposures to diet and lifestyle, closely associated with multiple metabolic disorders. However, the relationship between OBS and gallstones remains unclear. Methods This study analyzed cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2020. OBS was calculated based on the 24-hour recall interviews or questionnaires. We used weighted logistic regression, restricted cubic splines (RCS), weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression and the Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) model to identify the relationship between OBS and gallstones. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were used to explore potential heterogeneity and stability of the results. Mediation analysis was performed to assess the mediating effects of serum lipid in the association between OBS and gallstones. Results 7618 participants were finally included in this study. Weighted logistics regression showed that total OBS was associated with gallstones risk (OR=0.98, P=0.03), particularly in individuals who were under 60 years old, Hispanic, educated below high school, non-smokers, had hypertension or malignancy. Dietary and lifestyle OBS independently contribute to the protection against gallstones. RCS analysis indicated a non-linear relationship between OBS and gallstones (P=0.03). WQS and BKMR model identified that BMI, vitamin E, vitamin B6, magnesium and carotene played relatively important role among 20 components. Mediation analysis showed serum TG and HDL as mediators of the association between OBS and gallstones. Conclusion Higher OBS or increased oxidative balance are positively associated with reduction of gallstone risk. This findings provide valuable insights for surveillance and interventions targeting for antioxidant-rich diet and lifestyle for gallstone disease.

    Keywords: Oxidative balance score, Diet, lifestyle, Gallstones, NHANES

    Received: 05 Dec 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang and Yang. 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: Aiming Yang, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China

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