Effect of Vegan Diet During Greek-Orthodox Religious Fasting on Symptoms of Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction

Abstract

Background and Aims: Religious fasting observed in diverse populations may influence the reporting of digestive symptoms. Greek-Orthodox (Byzantine style) religious fasting is prolonged and similar to a vegan diet. We aimed to evaluate the association between functional gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) with this religious fasting.

Methods: We investigated Romanian participants in the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study who observe Greek-Orthodox religious fasting, by adding specific questions on religious fasting to the study questionnaire. Data were analyzed in connection with the reported gastrointestinal symptoms.

Results: 2015 Romanians were included in the analyses. Overall, 716 (35.5%) of the respondents practiced some fasting, of which 446 (62.3%) fasted on Easter and Christmas, 90 (12.6%) observed all fasts, and 625 (87.3%) practiced weekly fasting. Of the latter, 167 (23.3%) fasted every week and 90 (12.6%) reported symptoms during fasting. There were no statistically significant associations between Greek-Orthodox fasting, to any degree, with upper or lower DGBI or gastrointestinal symptoms.

Conclusions: The results from this representative sample show that a substantial proportion of the Romanian population adheres to Greek-Orthodox fasting. However, in contrast to the a priori hypothesis, we did not have sufficient evidence that religious fasting is associated with the prevalence of DGBI, or with functional gastrointestinal symptoms.