BACKGROUND: Observational studies have assessed the association between total antioxidant capacity of the diet and risk of diabetes mellitus. However, results from these studies were not entirely consistent. In the current systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis, we aimed to determine the association between dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the risk of prediabetes and diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A systematic literature search of authentic electronic resources including PubMed/Medline, Embase, Scopus, ISI Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was carried out to find the relevant articles published up to November 2024. Random-effects or fixed-effects models were used to aggregate the relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) where appropriate. Heterogeneity across the studies were determined using the Cochran's RESULTS: A total of 10 observational studies (five cohort, three case-control and two cross-sectional studies) were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated that higher dietary TAC was significantly associated with lower risk of prediabetes (RR = 0.58
95% CI: 0.34-0.97
CONCLUSION: Overall, higher dietary TAC was inversely associated with the risk of prediabetes and diabetes mellitus. Further well-designed prospective studies or randomized controlled trials are needed to validate the present findings. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTER: (PROSPERO), CRD42024611235.