A new study examining the risk of fasting during Ramadan for people with Type 1 Diabetes compared blood glucose levels in 2 groups of people:
1.Patients taking insulin pump therapy.
2.Patients taking multiple daily insulin injections.
The researchers report their findings in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. (DTT). Researchers compared blood glucose data in these two groups. The article titled “Comparison of Insulin Pump therapy and Multiple daily injections insulin regimen in patients with Type 1 Diabetes during Ramadan Fasting” highlights the differences in glucose control, glucose variability and rate of hypo and hyper glycemia between the 2 treatment groups.
Hypoglycemia is common among patients with Type 1 Diabetes who fast during Ramadan and is the main cause of having to break the fast.
In the future, the use of an ‘artificial pancreas’ hybrid closed-loop system during Ramadan may allow patients to reduce or even eliminate hypoglycemia with increased time-in range and reduced glucose variability.