ArticleFrontiers in immunology2017
Ramadan Fasting Exerts Immunomodulatory Effects: Insights from a Systematic Review.
Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05590247 (Role of Intermittent Fasting on Disease Severity and Quality of Life in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis), which is not on this map. Cited by 58 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Role of Intermittent Fasting on Disease Severity and Quality of Life in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impacts of Ramadan fasting during pregnancy on pregnancy and birth outcomes: An umbrella review.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025Pooled it
- The Impacts of Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on Saliva Flow-Rate and Metabolic Data: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Religious fasting and its impacts on individual, public, and planetary health: Fasting as a "religious health asset" for a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable society.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Ramadan Fasting during Pregnancy and Health Outcomes in Offspring: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of the impact of diurnal intermittent fasting during Ramadan on body weight in healthy subjects aged 16 years and above.European journal of nutrition · 2020Pooled it
- Human fasting modulates macrophage function and upregulates multiple bioactive metabolites that extend lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans: a pilot clinical study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Trial
- Innate immune remodeling by short-term intensive fasting.Aging cell · 2021Trial
- Time-restricted eating effects on performance, immune function, and body composition in elite cyclists: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Walking Football During Ramadan Fasting on Heart Rate Variability and Physical Fitness in Healthy Middle-Aged Males.American journal of men's healthTrial
- Fasting and Nutrition as Promising Treatment Strategies for Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Transitional Hormonal Stages.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, and Inflammatory Skin Disease.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Review
- Dietary Recommendations from the Moroccan Society for Rheumatology (SMR) for Patients with Chronic Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2025Article
- Ramadan during pregnancy and the role of dietary intake for neonatal health in Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- The impact of healthcare provision on immigrant pregnancy behaviors: the case of Ramadan fasting in Germany.Journal of migration and health · 2025Article
- Ramadan fasting and hematological disorders: clinical considerations, risks, and management strategies.Clinical hematology international · 2025Review
- A multicenter mixed-methods study on the effects of intermittent fasting in patients with immune thrombocytopenia receiving thrombopoietin receptor agonists.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Effect of 30-day Ramadan fasting on autophagy pathway and metabolic health outcome in healthy individuals.Molecular biology research communications · 2025Article
- No evidence for an association between in utero Ramadan exposure and mean arterial pressure and random blood glucose in adulthood: evidence from SEACO in Malaysia.Journal of nutritional science · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is observed by Muslims as a month of fasting. All Muslim adults are expected to fast; nevertheless certain subgroups, including sick, frail subjects, and pregnant women, among others, are exempted. Ramadan fasting has been shown to impact on body systems in different manners. The influence of Ramadan fasting on immune system regulation remains elusive; however, immune system changes, such as the modulation of body response to various infectious, stressful, and other harmful events, are of great interest during fasting. In this paper, we performed an extensive systematic literature review of different scholarly databases (ISI/Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed,/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Directory of Open Access Journals, EbscoHOST, Scirus, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, and ProQuest), using the following key words: "fasting," "Ramadan," "Islam," and "immunity." Conclusions drawn from these findings included: (1) Ramadan fasting has been shown to only mildly influence the immune system and the alterations induced are transient, returning to basal pre-Ramadan status shortly afterward. (2) Ramadan fasting during the second trimester of pregnancy was shown to be safe and did not result in negative fetal outcomes, or maternal oxidative status alterations. (3) In cardiac patients, Ramadan fasting can have beneficial effects including lipid profile improvement and alleviation of oxidative stress. (4) In asthmatic patients as well as in patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and autoimmune disorders, fasting was safe. (5) In psychiatric patients, such as those suffering from schizophrenia, fasting could increase immunologic markers. (6) Fasting Muslim athletes who maintain intensive training schedule during Ramadan showed fluctuations of immunologic markers.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.