Ramadan with Ammad Mahmood and Sahira Dar

BMJ talk medicine

As Ramadan draws near, clinicians may be approached by their Muslim patients to discuss managing their health conditions during the month of fasting. How should someone with a chronic condition, such as diabetes or epilepsy, time their medications during this period? Can a person who’s pregnant or breastfeeding partake in fasting? What alternative options are available to someone whose health needs make participating fully in fasting too risky? In this week’s episode, we discuss the many questions doctors and patients may have around this topic with Ammad Mahmood and Sahira Dar, authors of a recently published article in The BMJ on advising patients with existing conditions about fasting during Ramadan, and talk about the importance of individualised advice and shared decision making. Our guests: Ammad Mahmood is a neurological trainee, currently undertaking a PHD in stroke imaging at the University of Glasgow. Sahira Dar is a GP, practising in Glasgow, with special interests in lifestyle medicine and mental health issues. Further reading: ‘Advising patients with existing conditions about fasting during Ramadan’ by Ammad Mahmood, Sahira Dar et al. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2020-063613