Abstract

Background: While some research studies show that fasting is associated with poor psychological health outcomes, others suggest otherwise. This led to an increasing body of knowledge to resolve this conflict. Despite this, no study has been done to strictly investigate the relationship between fasting and anxiety as a measure of psychological health. Therefore, this present study aims to explore the effect of fasting on anxiety, disregarding other variables.
Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was run. The search strategy involved the following keywords and their synonyms: fasting, intermittent fasting, meal skipping, alternate-day fasting, time-restricted feeding, time-restricted eating, reduced meal frequency, and fasted state for fasting. For anxiety, anxiety, phobia, and panic were used as search terms. Only studies in English were included. Medline, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched between 2000 and 2024. 1652 research articles were retrieved. Articles were screened by two investigators. In the case of a disagreement, a third investigator was sought to resolve the conflict. Following screening, 13 studies were included.
Result: The review indicates a complex relationship between fasting and anxiety levels. The majority of studies found a negative association between fasting and anxiety, where fasting periods were correlated with decreased anxiety levels. On the other hand, two studies found a positive association between stress and fasting. Two studies found no association or varying effects, pointing to possible variability based on individual factors such as age, gender, occupation, and pre-existing health conditions. Overall, the outcomes are not uniform across all fasting types and populations.
Conclusion: The results of this review show that fasting is associated with reduced anxiety levels. More studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying these effects and investigate the possibility of more extensive integration of fasting practices into mental health interventions.

Keywords:Onychomycosis; Dermatophytes; Environment; Antiseptic