We use the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as a natural experiment in fasting and fetal health. In Michigan births 1989-2006, we find prenatal exposure to Ramadan among Arab mothers results in lower birthweight. Exposure to Ramadan in the first month of gestation is also associated with a sizable reduction in the number of male births. In Census data for Uganda and Iraq we find strong association...

Background: Ramadan fasting is an obligation for many Muslims around the world who abstain from eating and drinking for one month, which has different medical and physiological effects, such as reducing blood pressure, lipid profile, blood glucose, and body weight. It has also been hypothesized that Ramadan fasting may induce some changes in the hematologic parameters. Thus, we aimed to investi...

Ramadan Fasting during the month of Ramadan is a religious obligation, practiced by millions of people around the world. Ramadan fasting is essentially a fundamental change in lifestyle for one lunar month. This type of fasting may have significant effects on lipid profile. Although there is no scientific consensus about the effects of fasting on cardiovascular risks such as changes in lipid pr...

fasting during the month of ramadan is one of the five pillars of islam. during this month, adult muslims are obligated to refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. although based on islamic principles patients are exempted from fasting, each year, and many muslim patients express their willingness to observe the fast in ramadan month to respect the cultural customs. there are concern...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Ramadan fasting on neutrophil's respiratory burst and circulating immune complex (CIC) level. METHODS The effects of Ramadan fasting on neutrophil's respiratory burst and CIC was studied in 21 normal young fasting Muslim individuals using standardized chemiluminescence and poly ethylene glycol methods respectively, the results...

During Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, adult Muslims are required to refrain from taking any food, beverages, or oral drugs, as well as from sexual intercourse between dawn and sunset. In this study, we aimed at discovering alterations in drug regimens and the seizure frequency of epileptic patients during Ramadan (15 October 2004-13 November 2004). In the 3 months follo...

BACKGROUND During the fasting month of Ramadan, practicing Saudis develop severe disturbances in sleeping and feeding patterns. Concomitantly, cortisol circadian rhythm is abolished, diurnal cortisol levels are elevated and circulating levels of several adipokines are altered favouring insulin resistance. AIM To examine changes in the expression of CLOCK and glucocorticoid-controlled genes, s...

Introduction: Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan is an obligation for all adult, healthy Muslims. As several studies have indicated, both fasting and energy restriction can alter thyroid hormone metabolism and affect the clinical features and well-being of hypothyroid patients. Hypothyroidism is more prevalent among women and the elderly. Its prevalence has been reported to be 4-8% of the...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics and care of patients with diabetes in countries with a sizable Muslim population and to study diabetes features during Ramadan and the effect of fasting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a population-based, retrospective, transversal survey conducted in 13 countries. A total of 12,914 patients with diabetes were recruited u...

Throughout the world, millions of Muslims fast daily during the month of Ramadan from sunrise (Sahar) until sunset (Iftar). Considering the impacts of environment on physiological functions, we performed this study in order to examine the effects of Ramadan fasting on some blood parameters of healthy volunteers and hypertensive patients. According to the results, there were no significant chang...