This cross-sectional study examined the association between the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI) and cervical cancer (CC) prevalence in 1,044 US women (174 CC survivors, 870 matched controls) drawn from NHANES 2003–2018.
Each one-unit increase in CDAI was linked to an 11.4% lower prevalence of CC (OR 0.886, 95% CI 0.819–0.958; P=0.003). Women in the highest CDAI tertile had a 55.8% lower CC prevalence vs. the lowest tertile (OR 0.442, 95% CI 0.245–0.797; P=0.007). The dose–response relationship was linear (P for nonlinearity=0.798).
Cross-sectional design prevents causal inference. CDAI was based on a single 24-hour dietary recall, which may not reflect long-term diet. CC survivors were self-reported via questionnaire, introducing potential recall and misclassification bias.
A higher dietary antioxidant intake, as captured by CDAI, is associated with lower CC prevalence — clinicians may counsel patients on antioxidant-rich diets as a potential complementary prevention strategy. Prospective studies are needed before firm recommendations can be made.
