Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Ramadan is the ninth month on the lunar calendar and for over a billion Muslims it is a holy month during which all healthy adults must observe absolute fasting from dawn to sunset. The risk of diabetic ketoacidosis is thought to be higher during Ramadan fasting due to hormonal disequilibrium.

Aim and objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that diabetic ketoacidosis is more frequent during Ramadan fasting.

Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis of the records of all patients admitted with DKA to all Benghazi hospitals during the lunar year 1428 Hijri (January 2007 to January 2008).

Results: Fifteen episodes occurred during Ramadan (4.6 episode/10 000 diabetic) as compare to 19.45 episodes/month (6 episode/10 000 diabetic/month) during the other lunar months (P=0.000), there was no significant difference in the patients’ mean age (37.6±10 vs 38.3±19, P=0.8), or mortality rate (13.3 vs 14.4%, P=0.9) during Ramadan and other months. The commonest precipitating factor of diabetic ketoacidosis during Ramadan was infection (46.6%), followed by miss dosing (33.3%).

Conclusion: There is no increase in the incidence and mortality from DKA during Ramadan which might indicate that Ramadan fasting is not a significant risk factor for diabetic ketoacidosis.