Effectiveness of Intermittent Fasting in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Scoping Review

Background Although intermittent fasting as an emerging dietary therapy has shown beneficial effects on the pathological progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus in animal and general population studies, there is still a lack of sufficient clinical evidence and in-depth understanding of the specific protocols for its use and its precise effects in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Objective To systematically analyse the studies related to the application of intermittent fasting in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, to summarise the specific protocol of intermittent fasting, and discuss the intervention effects of the application of this dietary modality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods Guided by the methodological framework of the scoping review, national and international databases were searched with a timeframe from database construction to July 1, 2023, two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted information, and categorised and analysed the included literature. Results A total of 13 papers were included. Intermittent fasting protocols in the literature have included time-restricted eating and alternate day fasting.Intervention formats included offline hospital outpatient education and feedback sessions, and offline combined with online mobile phone smart management interventions. Intervention durations ranged from a minimum of 3 weeks to a maximum of 18 months. Intervention outcomes had varying degrees of beneficial effects on physiological indicators, psychological outcomes, and blood biochemistry indices, with intermittent fasting resulting in higher compliance and fewer adverse effects compared with continuous fasting. Conclusion This paper has shown that intermittent fasting, when used in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, can reduce body weight mass, improve metabolic indices and delay disease progression, and can be combined with individual needs and professional guidance to develop an appropriate dietary programme to intervene in type 2 diabetes mellitus.