Association between the oxidative balance score and gynecologic cancers from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: An observational study

This study aimed to examine the potential correlations between the oxidative balance score (OBS) and gynecological cancers susceptibility. A cross-sectional design was employed, utilizing datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2 decades from 1999 through 2018. Our investigation demonstrated that OBS exhibited significant protective correlations with gynecologic cancers (odds ratio [OR]=0.985, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.974-0.997, P=.011), specifically cervical cancer (OR=0.974, 95% CI: 0.952-0.996, P=.019) and ovarian cancer (OR=0.950, 95% CI: 0.912-0.990, P=.015). The protective correlations of OBS with gynecologic, cervical, and ovarian cancers displayed a dose-response relationship with elevated OBS levels, yielding ORs of 0.765 (95% CI: 0.614-0.952, P=.017), 0.474 (95% CI: 0.289-0.777, P=.003), and 0.397 (95% CI: 0.167-0.942, P=.036), respectively, in the uppermost quartile. The OBS demonstrates significant protective correlations with gynecological cancers, with notably marked effects identified in cervical and ovarian cancers. These observations provide innovative perspectives regarding the pathogenesis of gynecological neoplasms and carry important ramifications for clinical prevention and public health interventions.