METHODS: Participants were consented to answer a physician-administered questionnaire following Ramadan 2020. Impact of COVID-19 on the decision of fasting, intentions to fast and duration of Ramadan and Shawal fasting, hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia events were assessed. Specific analysis comparing age categories of <65 years and ≥65 years were performed.

RESULTS: Among the 5865 participants, 22.5% were ≥65 years old. Concern for COVID-19 affected fasting decision for 7.6% (≥65 years) vs 5.4% (<65 years). More participants ≥65 years old did not fast (28.8% vs 12.7%, <65 years). Of the 83.6%, participants fulfilling Ramadan-fasting, 94.8% fasted ≥15 days and 12.6% had to break fast due to diabetes-related illness. The average number of days fasting within and post-Ramadan were 27 and 6 days respectively, regardless of age. Hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia occurred in 15.7% and 16.3% of participants respectively, with 6.5% and 7.4% requiring hospital care respectively. SMBG was performed in 73.8% of participants and 43.5% received Ramadan-focused education.

METHODS: Data collected from Saudi Arabia and 12 other mostly Muslim majority countries, via physician administered questionnaire within post Ramadan 2020.