ReviewNutrition & metabolism2025
Efficacy of intermittent fasting on improving liver function in individuals with metabolic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Nutrition & metabolism, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of 8-Hour Time-Restricted Eating (16/8 TRE) on Glucose Metabolism and Lipid Profile in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of different diet modalities on metabolic profiles and liver functions in metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease: a network meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Inflammatory Markers in Adults: A Systematic Review and Pairwise and Network Meta-Analyses.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of intermittent fasting on self-regulatory behaviour and sleep in participants with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes: A secondary analysis of the INTERFAST-2 randomised controlled trial.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Therapeutic effects of vitamin D and intermittent fasting on metabolic associated steatotic liver disease in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Beneficial Outcome Pathways: A New Mechanistic Framework to Map the Health Effects of Fasting in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.Journal of nutrition and metabolism · 2026Review
- Nano-Enhanced Diets: Advancing Metabolic Dysfunction-Related Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) - A Review.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIntermittent fasting (IF) can be an effective dietary therapy for weight loss and improving cardiometabolic health. However, there is scant evidence regarding the role of IF on indicators of liver function, particularly in adults with metabolic disorders. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effects of IF on liver function in adults with metabolic disorders.
methodsThree primary electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, were searched from inception to September 2024 to identify original studies that used IF interventions with or without control groups in adults with metabolic disorders. Inclusion criteria were (1) studies of human participants with metabolic diseases, (2) interventions that evaluated the effects of IF, (3) with or without a control group, and (4) measured liver fat, liver steatosis, liver fibrosis, or liver enzymes, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) as primary outcomes. Standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random effects models. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochran's Q statistic and I-squared statistic (I
resultsA total 21 studies involving 1,226 participants with metabolic disorders were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, IF effectively decreased liver fat with a large effect size [SMD: -1.22 (95% CI: -1.63 to -0.80), p = 0.001], liver steatosis with a medium effect size [SMD: -0.73 (95% CI: -1.12 to -0.35), p = 0.001], ALT with a small effect size [SMD: -0.44 (95% CI: -0.58 to -0.30), p = 0.001], and AST with a small effect size [SMD: -0.30 (95% CI: -0.49 to -0.11), p = 0.001], but not liver fibrosis [SMD: -0.28 (95% CI: -0.59 to 0.02), p = 0.07]. Subgroup analyses showed that IF decreased liver fat and ALT significantly, independent of IF mode, participant age, health status, weight status, and intervention duration. IF significantly decreased liver fibrosis in those with obesity; and decreased AST following 5:2 diets, in middle-aged adults, adults with obesity, and regardless of health status or intervention duration.
conclusionsIF seems to be an effective dietary therapy for improving liver function in adults with metabolic disorders, and many of liver function-related benefits occur regardless of IF mode, intervention duration, or participant health status. LIMITATIONS: Significant heterogeneity, small numbers of studies and inclusion of non-randomized trials or single-group pre-post trials were the main limitation of our meta-analysis. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to elucidate the effects of IF on liver function in adults with metabolic disorders.
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