Nazeer Khan, Amna Qureshi, Raazia Aftab, Waqas Farooqi, Muhammad Masood Khalid.
Effect of Gender and Age-group on Ramadan Fasting among Hypertensive Patients.
Ann Jinnah Sindh Med Uni Jan ;2(1):3-7.

Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the effect of Ramadan fasting on the blood pressure with covariate of gender and age group among hypertensive patients. Methods: One hundred seventeen hypertensive patients were selected conveniently from the staff and faculty members of Dow University of Health Sciences and other locations of Karachi. The field investigators visited three times (last ten days of Shaban, Ramadan and Shawwal) for collection of data. A structured questionnaire was completed before clinical examination. Blood pressures were measured 3 times in sitting position. Three patients were lost in the follow up. Results: The mean age of the 114 hypertensive patients was 54.34±11.3 years. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) of male and female patients decreased significantly from Shaban to Ramadan, but rose with statistically significant to Shawwal. Mean SBP decreased significantly in each age group from Shaban to Ramadan then upswing in Shawwal. But reversal of the SBP was not significant in any of the age group, except the elder group. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) also decreased significantly from Shaban to Ramadan among both the gender, but bounced back significantly in Shawwal. Mean DBP decreased significantly from Shaban to Ramadan for the age group 51-60 years only and increased significantly from Ramadan to Shawwal for the age group of < 40 years and > 60 years. Overall mean SBP and DBP of the entire sample was reduced significantly from Shaban to Ramadan, but reversed back significantly to Shawwal. There was no significant effect of gender, age group and its interaction in the changes of SBP and DBP in three readings. Conclusions: The study revealed that Ramadan fasting has some positive effect in controlling the blood pressure even though the timing and doses of the anti-hypertensive medicines are altered. Large scale clinical studies could be conducted to observe the physiological changes due to Ramadan fasting affecting hypertensive patients. Key Words: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hypertensive patients, Ramadan fasting.

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