Secondary analysis of Ramadan fasting: baseline-dependent immune and metabolic signals in healthy young men
In a re-analysis of healthy young men during Ramadan fasting, fasting was associated with modest weight loss and coordinated changes in autophagy-, senescence- and inflammasome-related gene activity without systemic inflammatory escalation; inflammasome-related responses appeared baseline-dependent. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
The study was a secondary integrative analysis of a previously characterized cohort of healthy young men undergoing Ramadan fasting, re-analyzing data from four time points. [1]
Fasting was associated with modest body weight reductions of -1.78 ± 1.44 kg (FDR p = 0.0056). [1]
The authors report transcriptional changes in autophagy-, senescence- and inflammasome-related pathways without systemic inflammatory escalation, and call the findings hypothesis-generating. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Secondary integrative analysis of a cohort (abstract only)
- Population / context
- Healthy young men undergoing Ramadan fasting, re-analyzed from a previously characterized cohort.
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Original publication
- June 17, 2026
Re-analysis of a Ramadan fasting cohort of young men
This was a secondary integrative analysis of a previously characterized cohort of healthy young men undergoing Ramadan fasting. Data from four time points (T1–T4) were re-analyzed, combining targeted mRNA profiling of autophagy-, senescence- and inflammasome-related genes with circulating cytokines and clinical parameters. Baseline-stratified regression and exploratory clustering were used to assess differences between individuals.
Supporting source [1]
Modest weight loss and graded transcriptional responses
Fasting was associated with modest reductions in body weight (-1.78 ± 1.44 kg, FDR p = 0.0056), which the authors describe as suggesting baseline-dependent transcriptional responsiveness. Responses followed a continuous spectrum rather than discrete subtypes. The authors conclude that inflammasome-related responses appear baseline-dependent, suggesting graded immunological responsiveness rather than uniform activation.
Supporting source [1]
No systemic inflammatory escalation in this exploratory analysis
The authors describe prolonged intermittent fasting as associated with coordinated immunometabolic remodeling, with transcriptional changes in autophagy-, senescence- and inflammasome-related pathways but without systemic inflammatory escalation. They call the findings hypothesis-generating and interpret fasting as a graded immunometabolic modulator rather than a uniform pro-inflammatory stimulus, within the limits of a secondary exploratory analysis.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
This is an abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. The work is a secondary exploratory analysis of one cohort of healthy young men during Ramadan fasting, and the authors themselves call the findings hypothesis-generating. Associations are not causes, and no clinical outcomes are reported in the abstract.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Erlangga Z, Souita S, Hamdan I, Zopf Y, Gutenbrunner C, Suwandi A, Nugraha B. · europepmc.org · June 17, 2026