| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 3 | Page : 88-94 |
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Impact of Christians fasting in type 2 diabetic patients among Egyptian coptic orthodox
Adel Abd El-Aziz El-Sayed, Amal Khalifa Noreldin, Mahmoud Kamal Elsamman, Diana Samy Zaky, Emad Sameh Kaldas
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Mahmoud Kamal Elsamman
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag
Egypt
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jod.jod_5_18
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Context: Religious fasting has a variable metabolic impact health. Studies on Orthodox Christian fasting in diabetic patients are very scarce, and studies on health effects of Christian fasting in Egypt are lacking. Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of fasting among Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians with and without Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Settings and Design: A prospective study was conducted in Sohag San George Church and involved 49 Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians with Type 2 DM and 48 non-diabetic persons during the period of Great Lent 2013. Subjects and Methods: Both diabetic and non-diabetic groups were subjected to clinical evaluation, anthropometric measurements and laboratory investigations before and after fasting. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS (11.0) for Windows and P < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results: Among the diabetic group, there was a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after fasting with P = 0.0001 and 0.047, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were reduced significantly after fasting with P = 0.0005 and 0.001, respectively. Significant reduction in glycosylated haemoglobin after fasting was also detected. No significant change lipid profile was detected. Among non-diabetic group, significant decrease in BMI, waist circumference and high-density lipoprotein level was detected after fasting. There were no significant changes in blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels. Conclusion: Fasting among Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians has positive impacts on health among patients with Type 2 DM. It also showed some beneficial effects among fasting non-diabetic individuals.
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