Diabetes and Ramadan Fasting (2024): A Thematic Overview

Abstract We aimed to provide a narrative overview of the global literature production during 2024 on diabetes and Ramadan fasting (RF). A narrative, nonsystematic review of the international literature from two major medical online databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) in one calendar year (2024). The search term “Ramadan fasting AND Diabetes” was used, and relevant literature was narrated in a concise thematic account. Themes from a review of the literature on RF published in 2024 included studies on the epidemiology of fasting in the real world, nutrition, and metabolism during fasting. Several studies assessed the validity of the recently proposed risk stratification tool. The use and safety of different pharmacological therapeutic agents such as sulphonylureas, newer basal insulin analogs, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors were also studied in various geographical and socioeconomic settings. The role of diabetes technology in Ramadan was the focus of several studies of insulin pumps and monitoring. Special interest was in the high-risk groups, such as acute complications and fasting in chronic kidney disease. Several groups also considered professional and patient perspectives. The literature on RF and diabetes in 2024 continued to address epidemiology, risk stratification, the safety of pharmacological agents, diabetes technology, issues about high-risk patients, and patient perspectives.