Fasting–A challenge for diabetics
A study looked into the characteristics and care of people with diabetes from Muslim countries, and studied the features of diabetes during the period of fasting–Ramadan.
Sample of 12,243 people from 13 countries; 1,070 had type 1 diabetes while 11,173 had type 2 diabetes.
During Ramadan, 42.8% of those with type 1 diabetes and 78.7% of those with type 2 diabetes fasted for at least 15 days, however less than 50% of the whole group assessed changed their treatment dose.
Findings: Severe hypoglycaemic episodes were seen to be significantly more frequent during Ramadan compared with other months, more so, they were even more frequent in people who changed their dose of oral antidiabetic drugs or insulin or their level of physical activity.
Healthcare professionals are therefore challenged with the huge number of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan.
Recommendation: More intensive education, dissemination of guidelines should be given before people with diabetes fast. More studies should be conducted to assess the impact of fasting.