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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1488765

Impact of Religious Fasting on Ocular Dryness: Objective and Subjective Assessment

Provisionally accepted
AMAL ALOMARI AMAL ALOMARI 1*Saif Aldeen AlRyalat Saif Aldeen AlRyalat 2Omar Bdair Omar Bdair 1Alanoud Al-Wakfi Alanoud Al-Wakfi 3Mohammed Jaber Mohammed Jaber 3Ahmad Alloubani Ahmad Alloubani 3Asma Musleh Asma Musleh 1Mohammad ABUSAMAK Mohammad ABUSAMAK 1Haitham Sahawneh Haitham Sahawneh 1Sara Issa Sara Issa 1Muhannd El-Faouri Muhannd El-Faouri 4Ayman A Abdul Aziz Ayman A Abdul Aziz 1Muawyah Al Bdour Muawyah Al Bdour 2
  • 1 Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
  • 2 Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Aljubeiha, Amman, Jordan
  • 3 National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, Amman, Jordan, Amman, Amman, Jordan
  • 4 Faculty of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Zarqa, Jordan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Certain religions require long hours of fasting, abstaining from fluid intake for durations extending up to 16 hours. Lack of fluid intake may alter multiple physiological parameters, which can influence the ocular system. In this prospective study, we evaluated the effect of prolonged fasting on dry eye disease using both objective and subjective measures. Methods: We included patients who fasted for at least twelve hours a day for at least two weeks, including the testing day, and retested them at least one week after the fasting period had ended with no fasting on the testing day. At each visit, Non-Invasive Keratograph Break up time (NIKBUT) and Tear meniscus height (TM) were measured using the Oculus Keratograph 5M. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) was evaluated at each timepoint to assess dryness symptoms subjectively. Results: This study included a total of 40 patients. NIKBUT values during the fasting times were higher than during the non-fasting times; however, the difference was statistically non-significant. There were no significant differences in TM and OSDI measurements between non-fasting and fasting periods (P > 0.05). Lubricating eyedrop use was significantly lower in fasting patients. Conclusion: Our study showed that prolonged fasting, including complete abstinence from fluid intake, did not lead to significant dryness, neither subjectively nor objectively. During fasting, patients used significantly fewer lubricating drops compared to non-fasting periods.

    Keywords: Fasting, Lubrication, ramadan, tear, OSDI questionnaire, dry eye

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 08 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 ALOMARI, AlRyalat, Bdair, Al-Wakfi, Jaber, Alloubani, Musleh, ABUSAMAK, Sahawneh, Issa, El-Faouri, Aziz and Al Bdour. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: AMAL ALOMARI, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan

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