Diabetes Patients' Classification During Ramadan Based on Risk Level
Scientific Reference for Recommendations
A group of diabetes specialists, the majority of whom are Muslim, wrote evidence-based recommendations regarding the suitability of fasting for diabetes patients.
These recommendations were published in 2020 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), which is the second highest global journal in internal medicine.
The Four Categories of Diabetes Patients
According to these recommendations, patients are divided into four main categories based on the level of risk:
- Category One (Very High Risk): Those for whom fasting poses a very high risk; these individuals should not fast.
- Category Two (High Risk): Those for whom fasting poses a high risk; these individuals are advised not to fast.
- Category Three (Moderate Risk): Those for whom the risk of fasting is moderate; these individuals may fast but with caution and by following precise medical recommendations.
- Category Four (Low Risk): Those for whom the risk of fasting is low; these individuals are advised to fast.
In the following sections, we will detail these categories in order, so that every diabetes patient can identify the category to which they belong.