Study: A diet rich in antioxidants may reduce the risk of cervical cancer

The study was based on analyzing data from 1,044 American women who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2018, including 174 women with cervical cancer and 870 women who were not infected.

The researchers focused on measuring the amount of antioxidants that the participants obtained from food, using the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI). This indicator relies on data from food intake questionnaires to estimate the level of antioxidants in each participant's diet.

After taking into account other factors that could affect the risk of cervical cancer, the researchers found that every one-unit increase in the CDAI was associated with an 11.4% reduction in the prevalence of cervical cancer.

The results also showed that women who recorded the highest levels in the index had a 55.8% lower prevalence of cervical cancer compared to women who recorded the lowest levels.

Additional analyzes showed a linear inverse relationship between the composite dietary antioxidant index and the prevalence of cervical cancer, that is, a higher level of antioxidants in the diet was associated with a lower prevalence of the disease.

The researchers emphasized that these results indicate the possibility that eating foods rich in antioxidants may play a role in preventing cervical cancer, but they stressed the need for more future studies to confirm this relationship and understand the mechanisms that may explain it.

The results of the study do not prove that antioxidants directly prevent cervical cancer, but rather indicate that there is a link between their high consumption and a decrease in the spread of the disease.