Dietary Total Antioxidant Capacity and Risk of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Among multiple factors that affect the etiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), diet has
an important contribution. Chronic oxidative stress has also been implicated in the development of PCOS. The
present study is an attempt to evaluate dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and its relationship with odds of
PCOS in Iran.
Materials and Methods: The study was carried out as a case-control study in hospital outpatient clinics, Tehran,
Iran. Totally, 310 female participants with a history of PCOS and 602 age-matched controls took part in this
study between June 2015 and December 2018. A reproducible and valid 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency
inventory was utilized to determine the entire antioxidants of the usual diet in order to calculate dietary
TAC. The relationship of dietary TAC with odds of PCOS were assessed adjusting for potential confounders
through an estimation of two multivariable conditional regression models. The first tertile was presented as a
reference category.
Results: In a fully adjusted model, the highest tertile of dietary TAC was associated with a reduced odds of
PCOS [odds ratio (OR): 0.81, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.59, 0.96, P for trend: 0.038). In addition, PCOS odds decreased in the highest tertile of α-tocopherol intake (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.88, P for trend:
0.023). The adjusted ORs in the highest tertile of vitamin C, β-carotene and magnesium were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.83-0.97), 0.81 (95% CI: 0.67-0.98) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.55-0.9 8) respectively, with a significant trend.
Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that there was a relationship between high TAC diets and lower odds of
PCOS.