Effects of fasting during Ramadan on renal function of patients with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Fasting during Ramadan is prohibited when an individual's health is endangered. Little work has been published in this direction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We aimed to evaluate the impact of fasting during Ramadan on the renal function of patients with CKD, adjusting for the initial degree of renal impairment. We prospectively studied 60 patients with CKD (35 females; mean age 45.6 ± 15.8 years). All study patients were older than 15 years, being followed-up at the nephrology clinic for more than six months, having a stable CKD during the preceding six months and who had fasted during Ramadan the previous year. Patients who had a medical contra-indication for fasting were excluded from the study [severe or resistant arterial hypertension, insulin-requiring diabetes, acute renal failure (ARF), active renal disease, repetitive urolithiasis or terminal chronic renal failure]. Statistical analysis was performed in collaboration with the epidemiology lab at the Fez Medical School using the SPSS software version 17. Three of the study patients developed ARF in the first week and four of them at the end of the month of the study period. The risk of developing ARF was significantly higher for patients with baseline creatinine clearance of <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . However, the small sample size does not allow us to draw any firm conclusions on fasting during Ramadan in stable CKD patients. Studies on larger numbers of patients are recommended.