For Muslims the month of Ramadan is a time of fasting but during the evenings after sunset it is also an occasion for family and social gatherings. Therefore, according to the BertillonDurkheim conception of suicide (that is based on the strength of social ties), one would expect a fall in suicide rates during Ramadan. Is this conjecture confirmed by observation? That is the question addressed ...

UNLABELLED Fasting during the month of Ramadan is a religious rituals of all healthy adult Muslims. However, there is no clear agreement on the effects of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular disease. Comorbidities and factors such as age, gender, health status, daily duration of fasting, food intake before and after fasting may impact on a fasting individual's cardiometabolic risk. This review wa...

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on body composition, aerobic and anaerobic power, strength, plasma lipids profile and serum glucose among collegiate wrestlers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fourteen male collegiate wrestlers (age, 20.12±2.5 yrs) volunteered as subjects for the study. Subjects were tested one week before the beginning of Ramadan, the last t...

OBJECTIVE Ramadan fasting is one of the five fundamental rituals of Islam. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an independent predictor of increased mortality of patients with myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. Although many patients in this region fast once a year, the effects of fasting on the HRV, which has a prognostic significance for patients with myocardial infarction and co...

This paper examines whether nutritional disruptions experienced during the stage of fetal development impair an individual's labor market productivity later in life. We consider intrauterine exposure to the month of Ramadan as a natural experiment that might cause shocks to the inflow of nutrients essential for fetal development. Specifically, we use administrative data from Denmark to investig...

Dear Editor, The Ramadan fast as a religious duty is practiced by millions of healthy adults. This type of intermittent fasting has different physiological effects on the body. Given the immense number of Muslims fasting every year, this study was designed to assess the effect of the Ramadan fast on liver function tests. Liver function tests have scarcely been mentioned by studies and the resul...

BACKGROUND There are many advantages of breast milk for infants. Many factors can affect the volume and composition of breast milk. One of them is the maternal diet. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of Ramadan fasting on maternal nutrition and breast milk composition. METHODS A total of 21 breast-feeding mothers aged between 17 and 38 years who fasted during Ramadan mont...

In the month of Ramadan, many Muslims fast during the day and significant changes in sleeping and eating patterns occur that may affect blood pressure. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of fasting on blood pressure. The study was performed in June 2014 in Yazd, a city in the center of Iran. Sixteen patients with controlled or mild hypertension on medical therapy underwent 24...

Experimental fasting has been shown to alter the sleep-wakefulness pattern in various species. As fasting during Ramadan is distinct from experimental fasting, the physiological and behavioural changes occurring during Ramadan fasting may differ from those occurring during experimental fasting. There has been increased interest in recent years in sleep changes and daytime sleepiness during Rama...

OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the feasibility of promoting safe Ramadan fasting through diabetes self-management education (DSME) and to determine the effect of such education on hypoglycemic episodes. DESIGN AND METHODS This prospective study included subjects attending Ramadan reinforcement sessions for participants in the Educational Program for People with Diabetes (EPPWD) at the Ai...