psychological effects of fasting on patients suffering from diabetes type 2

Objective: we conducted this study to compare the psychological effects between diabetic patients taking fast and non-fasting counterparts to better investigate the effects of fasting on mental health of diabetes sufferers. materials and methods: this study was a prospective cohort conducted among diabetic patients. in this study, two types of fasting and non-fasting patients were invited to take part. during one week before and after the ramadan, all patients were asked to complete 28-scale general health questionnaire (ghq). results: in this study, 116 patients who were suffering from diabetes completed the study. they were compared with each other in format of three groups (two fasting and one non-fasting). mean changes of total and subscales' score were negative in nearly all groups but there were no significant difference between groups. in addition, total and subscale a, b and c scores significantly increased (positive change) but subscale d score didn’t change in fasting patients during this month. conclusion: the results of present study revealed that fasting during the whole month of ramadan can exacerbate patients' general health in comparison with non-fasting patients. however, because we can't determine whether this finding is attributed to fasting regardless of diabetes or has been resulted from the co-existence of fasting and the disease, it is recommended to design a study to compare diabetic and healthy fasting individuals.