Ramadan and diabetes: Holistic trial design.

ABSTRACT: Extensive work has been done to analyze the safety of various modern glucose-lowering drugs during Ramadan fasting. This editorial suggests the use of validated scales of religiosity/spirituality as an adjunct to pre-Ramadan counselling and risk stratification. The editors also propose a holistic trial design for future trials on glycaemic management during Ramadan. Such a design should include both spiritual and biomedical endpoints, while trying to assess correlation between religiosity/spirituality and biomedical outcomes after Ramadan fasting. Integration of validated instruments to screen and monitor spirituality will help achieve the holistic health in devout Muslims who wish to observe Ramadan.