Adawi, M, Watad, A orcid.org/0000-0002-1404-8027, Brown, S et al. (11 more authors) (2017) Ramadan Fasting Exerts Immunomodulatory Effects: Insights from a Systematic Review. Frontiers in Immunology, 8. 1144. ISSN 1664-3224
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Adawi, Watad, Brown, Aazza, Aazza, Zouhir, Sharif, Ghanayem, Farah, Mahagna, Fiordoro, Sukkar, Bragazzi and Mahroum. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Ramadan; fasting; immune system; autoimmunity; antibodies |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Institute of Rheumatology & Musculoskeletal Medicine (LIRMM) (Leeds) > Experimental Musculoskeletal Medicine (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Jan 2019 14:51 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2019 14:51 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01144 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:141283 |