The Association Between Dietary Total Antioxidant Capacity and the Duration of Vitiligo: A Cross-Sectional Study

There is limited evidence regarding the association between dTAC and the duration of vitiligo. This cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the relationship between dTAC and vitiligo duration in an Iranian population. In this hospital-based cross-sectional investigation, 263 individuals with vitiligo were enrolled. Of these, 180 participants had a disease duration of ≤ 10 days, while 83 had > 10. Dietary intake data were collected using a validated SFFQ comprising 168 items. dTAC was calculated by summing antioxidant values from USDA data based on food frequency, using substitutions when needed. In this study, no significant association was found between dTAC tertiles and vitiligo duration in both younger (≤ 25 years) and older (> 25 years) patients in crude and most adjusted models. However, among individuals over 25 years, an intermediate dTAC level was linked to a significantly reduced risk (~ 59–60%) of prolonged vitiligo duration after adjusting for body weight and other confounders. This association became non-significant when calorie intake was controlled, but was strengthened after further adjustments for medication and supplement use. Longitudinal cohort studies are warranted to validate these findings.