4 ms·

Good point. Do practicing Muslims have lower cancer rates?

by kylebenzle 6y ago

tptacek 6y ago
They're only fasting for a month out of the year.
- Schiendelman 6y ago
  That’s literally the fasting term in the study.
- mathattack 6y ago
  The duration in the article is 4 months. The real issue is small sample size. (14 people)
  - jp0d 6y ago
    That's a really small sample size. Are they allowed to publish a study like this for such a small sample? Does anyone know if there is a minimum threshold size?
    - dr_dshiv 6y ago
      Allowed to publish? First it's a pilot study. Second, it's actually not a small sample size if you reasonably anticipate big effects and have multiple measures for each of the people at multiple time points. It isn't an observational study, though believers might have wished for a matched control group - - the anticancer effects might have come from the Ramadan prayer vs fasting!
  - hammeiam 6y ago
    From the title: "Intermittent fasting from dawn to sunset for four consecutive weeks..."
  - oh_sigh 6y ago
    Also, not just 14 people, but 14 people with a metabolic disorder.
- MattGaiser 6y ago
  So do they have fewer early stages cancers diagnosed in the months after?
- Nemant 6y ago
  A lot of practicing Muslims also fast Mondays and Thursdays and the “3 white days” of the month[0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_in_Islam https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_in_Islam see “Days of voluntary fasting”
  - tptacek 6y ago
    TIL! Thank you!
kranner 6y ago
You'll have to account for increased rates of smoking in both Muslim-majority countries and Muslim populations in non-Muslim-majority countries. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360407/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360407/ > A fifth of the world's population is Muslim, and most Muslims live in areas where the prevalence of smoking is high and often increasing. But even among the many Muslims living in Europe, smoking prevalence (particularly among men) remains high. For example, in England in 2004 the overall prevalence of smoking was 40% in Bangladeshi men and 29% in Pakistani men compared with 24% among the male general population.
- erklik 6y ago
  That's interesting. I believe smoking is discouraged in Islam, so I wonder why the uptake is higher. Guessing it's a general education issue?
  - DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
    Tobacco companies actively and aggressively advertise and market their products in LEDC countries: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1363897/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1363897/
  - sharadov 6y ago
    Smoking not so much, alcohol is considered "haram", you see smoking to be a lot more prevalent.
  - ibn_khaldun 6y ago
    Smoking, like alcohol and other vices are prohibited. It is in fact an unfortunate reality that is a matter of miseducation for those who are not victim to the statistical conflation of nationality as an indicator of belief.
  - c8g 6y ago
    As a Muslim and live in a country with 90% Muslim, I can tell, most of the people are Muslim, because they have a Muslim parent. Rape, corruption, addiction, sexual harassments, hate speech are common things here. No Muslim can do these. 5 times prayers (Salah) in a day is absolutely mandatory, absolutely no excuse for Muslim. But most people don't even care, including me :)
Zenst 6y ago
Nothing stand-out from https://ourworldindata.org/cancer https://ourworldindata.org/cancer that would indicate that. Alcohol would also be a factor in play as that would increase the risk of some cancers, so the lack of you would of thought also be a factor with that lifestyle.
esalman 6y ago
I don't see any predominantly Muslim country listed high up here- https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/data-cancer-frequency-country https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/data-cancer... . Which is kinda surprising to me. My father never smoked and still got cancer. I am from a Muslim-majority country and I know of a bunch of other friends/family who suffered or perished from cancer.
anticensor 6y ago
Not significantly affected, as most Muslims eat too much when breaking the fast.

Good point. Do practicing Muslims have lower cancer rates?

tptacek 6y ago

They're only fasting for a month out of the year.

Schiendelman 6y ago
That’s literally the fasting term in the study.
mathattack 6y ago
The duration in the article is 4 months. The real issue is small sample size. (14 people)
- jp0d 6y ago
  That's a really small sample size. Are they allowed to publish a study like this for such a small sample? Does anyone know if there is a minimum threshold size?
  - dr_dshiv 6y ago
    Allowed to publish? First it's a pilot study. Second, it's actually not a small sample size if you reasonably anticipate big effects and have multiple measures for each of the people at multiple time points. It isn't an observational study, though believers might have wished for a matched control group - - the anticancer effects might have come from the Ramadan prayer vs fasting!
- hammeiam 6y ago
  From the title: "Intermittent fasting from dawn to sunset for four consecutive weeks..."
- oh_sigh 6y ago
  Also, not just 14 people, but 14 people with a metabolic disorder.
MattGaiser 6y ago
So do they have fewer early stages cancers diagnosed in the months after?
Nemant 6y ago
A lot of practicing Muslims also fast Mondays and Thursdays and the “3 white days” of the month[0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_in_Islam https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_in_Islam see “Days of voluntary fasting”
- tptacek 6y ago
  TIL! Thank you!

kranner 6y ago

You'll have to account for increased rates of smoking in both Muslim-majority countries and Muslim populations in non-Muslim-majority countries. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360407/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360407/ > A fifth of the world's population is Muslim, and most Muslims live in areas where the prevalence of smoking is high and often increasing. But even among the many Muslims living in Europe, smoking prevalence (particularly among men) remains high. For example, in England in 2004 the overall prevalence of smoking was 40% in Bangladeshi men and 29% in Pakistani men compared with 24% among the male general population.

erklik 6y ago
That's interesting. I believe smoking is discouraged in Islam, so I wonder why the uptake is higher. Guessing it's a general education issue?
- DaiPlusPlus 6y ago
  Tobacco companies actively and aggressively advertise and market their products in LEDC countries: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1363897/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1363897/
- sharadov 6y ago
  Smoking not so much, alcohol is considered "haram", you see smoking to be a lot more prevalent.
- ibn_khaldun 6y ago
  Smoking, like alcohol and other vices are prohibited. It is in fact an unfortunate reality that is a matter of miseducation for those who are not victim to the statistical conflation of nationality as an indicator of belief.
- c8g 6y ago
  As a Muslim and live in a country with 90% Muslim, I can tell, most of the people are Muslim, because they have a Muslim parent. Rape, corruption, addiction, sexual harassments, hate speech are common things here. No Muslim can do these. 5 times prayers (Salah) in a day is absolutely mandatory, absolutely no excuse for Muslim. But most people don't even care, including me :)

Zenst 6y ago

Nothing stand-out from https://ourworldindata.org/cancer https://ourworldindata.org/cancer that would indicate that. Alcohol would also be a factor in play as that would increase the risk of some cancers, so the lack of you would of thought also be a factor with that lifestyle.

esalman 6y ago

I don't see any predominantly Muslim country listed high up here- https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/data-cancer-frequency-country https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/data-cancer... . Which is kinda surprising to me. My father never smoked and still got cancer. I am from a Muslim-majority country and I know of a bunch of other friends/family who suffered or perished from cancer.

anticensor 6y ago

Not significantly affected, as most Muslims eat too much when breaking the fast.