Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Background and Purpose: Depression and anxiety disorders are increasing globally and represent major public health concerns. The relationship between fasting and the physical, social, psychological, and mental health of both healthy individuals and those suffering from various diseases has been repo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://jmums.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-20749-en.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846113504191315968 |
|---|---|
| author | Mahmood Moosazadeh Zahra Foroughi Moloud Fakhri Samaneh Farnia Seyed Hassan Nikookar Motahareh Kheradmand |
| author_facet | Mahmood Moosazadeh Zahra Foroughi Moloud Fakhri Samaneh Farnia Seyed Hassan Nikookar Motahareh Kheradmand |
| author_sort | Mahmood Moosazadeh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and Purpose: Depression and anxiety disorders are increasing globally and represent major public health concerns. The relationship between fasting and the physical, social, psychological, and mental health of both healthy individuals and those suffering from various diseases has been reported in several studies. This systematic review aims to determine the association between fasting and anxiety.
Materials and Methods: This systematic review examined studies, including cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and clinical trials, that explored the relationship between different types of fasting and anxiety. In this study, the population (P) consisted of participants with fasting experience, the intervention (I) was fasting, the comparison (C) was between the periods before and after fasting, and the outcome (O) was the level of anxiety before and after fasting. International databases, including Google Scholar, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect (up to the end of 2021), were searched using the keywords "anxiety" and "fasting" in both English and Persian. The extracted data were entered into a checklist, which included the researcher's name, type of study, year of implementation, instrument used, type of fasting, and the mean and standard deviation of anxiety scores before and after fasting. Data were analyzed using Stata software (version 11). To estimate the difference in standardized means, the number of samples, the mean, and the standard deviation of the anxiety scores were extracted from the primary studies. Using the Metan command, the random-effects model, and Cohen's estimator, the standardized mean difference in anxiety scores with a 95% confidence interval was calculated. Heterogeneity between the results of the primary studies was assessed using the Q statistic and I-squared index, and publication bias was evaluated using the Begg and Egger tests. The NOS checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies.
Results: A total of 1,408 articles were retrieved, of which 13 were related to the topic. Four articles were excluded from the analysis because they did not report the mean. Finally, nine articles were included in the systematic review (nine studies) and meta-analysis (eight studies). The results of the eight studies included in the meta-analysis using the random-effects model showed that the standardized mean difference of the anxiety scores before and after fasting, with a 95% confidence interval (-1.14, -0.21), was estimated to be -0.67. Additionally, the results of the meta-analysis, stratified by the type of fasting and the questionnaire used in the primary studies, indicated that the overall estimate of the standardized mean difference in anxiety scores before and after fasting was not significant when considering the data collection tool and the type of fasting. Based on the heterogeneity indices (I-squared: 93.9%, Q= 114.88, P<0.001), the level of heterogeneity between the results of the primary studies was high. Publication bias was evaluated using the Begg (P=0.322) and Egger (P=0.753) tests, which indicated that publication bias was not significant.
Conclusion: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the average anxiety score after fasting decreased by 0.67 units (67%) compared to before fasting, indicating a significant reduction in anxiety following a period of fasting. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-66a3a2f13a0c40cd96ada3dac31ad8bf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1735-9260 1735-9279 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-66a3a2f13a0c40cd96ada3dac31ad8bf2024-12-21T06:48:53ZengMazandaran University of Medical SciencesJournal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences1735-92601735-92792024-11-013423996107Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisMahmood Moosazadeh0Zahra Foroughi1Moloud Fakhri2Samaneh Farnia3Seyed Hassan Nikookar4Motahareh Kheradmand5 Associate Professor, Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Non- communicable Disease, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari Iran PhD in Knowledge and Information Science, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Assistant Professor, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Health Sciences Research Center, Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Assistant Professor, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Background and Purpose: Depression and anxiety disorders are increasing globally and represent major public health concerns. The relationship between fasting and the physical, social, psychological, and mental health of both healthy individuals and those suffering from various diseases has been reported in several studies. This systematic review aims to determine the association between fasting and anxiety. Materials and Methods: This systematic review examined studies, including cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and clinical trials, that explored the relationship between different types of fasting and anxiety. In this study, the population (P) consisted of participants with fasting experience, the intervention (I) was fasting, the comparison (C) was between the periods before and after fasting, and the outcome (O) was the level of anxiety before and after fasting. International databases, including Google Scholar, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect (up to the end of 2021), were searched using the keywords "anxiety" and "fasting" in both English and Persian. The extracted data were entered into a checklist, which included the researcher's name, type of study, year of implementation, instrument used, type of fasting, and the mean and standard deviation of anxiety scores before and after fasting. Data were analyzed using Stata software (version 11). To estimate the difference in standardized means, the number of samples, the mean, and the standard deviation of the anxiety scores were extracted from the primary studies. Using the Metan command, the random-effects model, and Cohen's estimator, the standardized mean difference in anxiety scores with a 95% confidence interval was calculated. Heterogeneity between the results of the primary studies was assessed using the Q statistic and I-squared index, and publication bias was evaluated using the Begg and Egger tests. The NOS checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Results: A total of 1,408 articles were retrieved, of which 13 were related to the topic. Four articles were excluded from the analysis because they did not report the mean. Finally, nine articles were included in the systematic review (nine studies) and meta-analysis (eight studies). The results of the eight studies included in the meta-analysis using the random-effects model showed that the standardized mean difference of the anxiety scores before and after fasting, with a 95% confidence interval (-1.14, -0.21), was estimated to be -0.67. Additionally, the results of the meta-analysis, stratified by the type of fasting and the questionnaire used in the primary studies, indicated that the overall estimate of the standardized mean difference in anxiety scores before and after fasting was not significant when considering the data collection tool and the type of fasting. Based on the heterogeneity indices (I-squared: 93.9%, Q= 114.88, P<0.001), the level of heterogeneity between the results of the primary studies was high. Publication bias was evaluated using the Begg (P=0.322) and Egger (P=0.753) tests, which indicated that publication bias was not significant. Conclusion: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the average anxiety score after fasting decreased by 0.67 units (67%) compared to before fasting, indicating a significant reduction in anxiety following a period of fasting.http://jmums.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-20749-en.pdfanxietyfastingsystematic reviewmeta-analysis |
| spellingShingle | Mahmood Moosazadeh Zahra Foroughi Moloud Fakhri Samaneh Farnia Seyed Hassan Nikookar Motahareh Kheradmand Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences anxiety fasting systematic review meta-analysis |
| title | Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_full | Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_short | Association Between Fasting and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_sort | association between fasting and anxiety a systematic review and meta analysis |
| topic | anxiety fasting systematic review meta-analysis |
| url | http://jmums.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-20749-en.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mahmoodmoosazadeh associationbetweenfastingandanxietyasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT zahraforoughi associationbetweenfastingandanxietyasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT moloudfakhri associationbetweenfastingandanxietyasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT samanehfarnia associationbetweenfastingandanxietyasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT seyedhassannikookar associationbetweenfastingandanxietyasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis AT motaharehkheradmand associationbetweenfastingandanxietyasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis |