July 2, 2013 – Pharmaceutical group MSD is launching an information kit to help people with type 2 diabetes who choose to fast during Ramadan.
Almost 4 in 5 people with type 2 diabetes practice Ramadan and fast despite the health risks. This number is expected to increase. Indeed, new figures from the International Diabetes Federation indicate that currently 366 million people worldwide have diabetes and that this figure is expected to reach 522 million by 2030.
MSD, which recalls the crucial role that health professionals play in providing advice to people with diabetes, has created an information kit in French and Arabic intended for people with type 2 diabetes who choose to fast. This kit is made available to healthcare professionals who wish to give it to their patients and discuss this subject with them. The information kit “Information about fasting in Ramadan” for people with type 2 diabetes features various tips from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and tools to help manage your diabetes while fasting.
“Fasting entails significant health risks for people with diabetes and despite this many of them respect fasting without medical advice and may therefore develop acute complications”, says Dr Sabrina CHIHEB, Hospital Practitioner in Diabetology-Endocrinology- Nutrition at the CHU Jean Vernier in Bondy.
“It is important to remember that healthcare professionals should discuss fasting and diet with patients with type 2 diabetes at the time of diagnosis and regularly thereafter in order to discuss any necessary lifestyle changes or changes to their diet. treatment regimens ”.
People with diabetes who choose to fast during Ramadan, like other fasters, should refrain from eating, drinking, and taking oral medications from dawn until sunset. For people with type 2 diabetes, taking certain anti-diabetic drugs at the usual times and doses, together with reducing food intake, are well-known risk factors for hypoglycemia (low level of glucose in the blood), which, if left untreated, can lead to serious medical problems including loss of consciousness, or seizures, which require urgent treatment. The kit is available in brochure format on request from MSD France or in an electronic version from the following link: www.msd-france.com
Aurore Clavé – Health Passport
Source: MSD
