To investigate the association between dietary oxidative balance score (DOBS) and the risk of sarcopenia in patients with hypertension.

Patients with hypertension aged 20 years and above who participated in four survey cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2011-2018. Weighted logistic regression and restricted cubic spline were used to analyze the association between DOBS and the risk of sarcopenia in patients with hypertension, and subgroups analysis was performed according to gender and age.

A total of 2 775 patients with hypertension were included, with 349 (12.6%) diagnosed with sarcopenia. After adjusting for multiple covariates, higher DOBS were significantly associated with decreased risk of sarcopenia in patients with hypertension. For each one-point increase in DOBS, the risk of sarcopenia in patients with hypertension was reduced by 11.4% (OR=0.886, 95%CI: 0.842-0.933). As a categorical variable, the OR of DOBS Q3 group was 0.331 (95%CI: 0.116-0.941) and the OR of Q4 group was 0.124 (95%CI: 0.051-0.301) compared with Q1. A restricted cubic spline model indicated a linear negative dose-response association between DOBS and sarcopenia in patients with hypertension (P _non-linear=0.148). Subgroup analysis indicated no significant interaction of gender and age on the association of DOBS and sarcopenia in patients with hypertension (P _interaction > 0.05).

Higher DOBS is significantly associated with a lower risk of sarcopenia in patients with hypertension.