ArticleCureus2023
Impact of Ramadan Fasting on the Severity of Symptoms Among a Cohort of Patients With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Navigating Ramadan Fasting Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Clinical Insights and Patient Experiences.Cureus · 2025Article
- Patient Care During Ramadan: A Narrative Review.Health services research and managerial epidemiologyReview
- Akram's lifestyle: An effective remedy for the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease.Journal of family & community medicineArticle
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition caused by the reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Heartburn, chest discomfort, and regurgitation are the main symptoms. Medications, surgical procedures, and lifestyle modification are considered treatment options. Fasting is believed to be one of the lifestyle modifications that helps minimize GERD symptoms. Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn until dusk. The objectives of our study were to investigate the relationship between fasting and GERD symptoms and evaluate how fasting affects GERD symptoms in Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: This was a longitudinal study that selected GERD patients for its consecutive sampling. The patients answered the questionnaires at two separate times: once during Ramadan and once after Ramadan. A validated gastroesophageal reflux disease health-related quality of life (GERD-HRQL) self-administered survey was used.
resultAfter Ramadan, heartburn symptoms significantly decreased, particularly when lying down. Overall, the 45-point heartburn score decreased from 17.9 during Ramadan to 14.3 thereafter. The regurgitation score decreased from 12.3 during Ramadan to 9.9 after fasting, with statistical significance (P = .049). Although satisfaction was much higher after Ramadan (17% vs. 15.1%), there was no statistical significance (P = .422), and 45.3% of the patients were satisfied with their health state during Ramadan compared to 34% after Ramadan. There was no relationship between the severity of GERD symptoms before or after fasting and the type of food, the timing of eating, or the amount of food consumed.
conclusionThe results suggested that Ramadan fasting may improve GERD symptoms. However, more studies are required to validate these results and comprehend the underlying mechanisms.
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