Table 3.
Summary of studies on the impact of Ramadan fasting on inflammatory markers.
| Authors/Year/ Country |
Duration | Participants | Study Design | MMP-9 | TNF-α | IL-1β | IL-2 | IL-6 | IL-8 | IL-10 | CRP | IGF-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aliasghari et al., 2017 [76] Iran | 30-d | 83 patients with NAFLD | Observational Ramadan fasting 1.Ramadan fasting (n = 42) 2.Control (n = 41) |
- | - | - | - | 1. ↓ *† 2. ↓ * |
- | - | 1. ↓ *† Hs-CRP 2. ↓ * |
- |
| Mohammad zade et al., 2017 [77] Iran | 30-d | 23 healthy men | Observational Ramadan fasting | - | - | - | - | Ø | - | - | Ø | - |
| Mushtaq et al., 2019 [78] Pakistan |
29-d | 110 normal, overweight, and obese men (n = 55) and women (n = 55) | Observational Ramadan fasting (1st vs. 29th day of Ramadan just before Iftar) + dietary recommendation (oily foods prohibited at Iftar (breaking of fast time), plus white oats provided (bran diet) for Sahar (onset of fasting time) meal |
- | ↓16% * Ψ men ↓11% * Ψ women |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Almeneessier et al., 2019 [79] Saudi Arabia |
14-d | 12 healthy men | Single arm Ramadan fasting (from dawn to sunset) | - | - | ↓ * | - | ↓ * | ↓ * | - | - | - |
| Rahbar et al., 2019 [80] Saudi Arabia |
30-d | 34 healthy men | Observational Ramadan fasting | - | - | - | ↓ * | - | - | - | --- | ↓ * |
| Faris et al., 2019 [81] UAE |
30-d | 57 overweight and obese adults | Observational Ramadan fasting | - | ↓ * | - | - | ↓ * | - | ↑* | - | ↓ * |
| Mansoor et al., 2020 [81] Iraq |
21-d | 20 healthy young women aged 19–20 y |
Observational Ramadan fasting | - | ↓ * | - | - | ↓ * | - | - | - | |
| Lubis and Pase. 2020 [83] Indonesia |
30-d | 30 obese adults | Observational Ramadan fasting | - | - | - | - | ↓ * | - | - | - | - |
| Zouhal et al., 2020 [84] Tunisia |
30-d | 28 obese men | RCT: 1. Ramdan fasting 2. Control |
- | 1. ↓ † 2. ↓ * |
- | - | 1. ↓ † 2. Ø |
- | - | 1. Ø 2.Ø |
- |
| Riat et al., 2021 [85] Germany |
27–29-d | 34 healthy adults | Observational Ramadan fasting (17–18 h) T1: baseline: 6–8 d before Ramadan T2: Mid of Ramadan (day 14–16) T3: End of Ramadan (day 27–29) T4: One week after Ramadan T5: One month after Ramadan |
T2: Ø T3: Ø T4: Ø T5: ↓ * |
- | - | - | - | T2: ↑* T3: ↓¥ T4: ↓¥ T5: ↓¥ |
- | - | T2: ↑* T3: ↓¥ T4: Ø T5: ↑* |
-: Not measured. ∅: Non-significant change between groups. * p < 0.05, Significantly different from baseline (within group effect). † p < 0.05, Significantly different from the control or comparison group. ¥ p < 0.05, Significantly different from T2. MMP-9: Matrix metalloproteinase; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor -α; IL-1β: Interleukin-1β; IL-2: Interleukin-2; IL-6: Interleukin-6; IL-8: Interleukin-8; IL-10: Interleukin-10; CRP: C-reactive protein; IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor 1; NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Ψ: Significant reduction in only obese group (30 men, 30 women).