title: The effect of Ramadan fasting on serum leptin, neuropeptide Y and insulin in pregnant women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many pregnant Muslim women choose to fast during Ramadan every year worldwide. This study aimed to examine the effect of Ramadan fasting on serum leptin, neuropeptide Y and insulin in pregnant women and find whether fasting during pregnancy could have a negative effect on the health of mothers and fetuses.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted on 39 healthy volunteer fasting pregnant women. Serum leptin, neuropeptide Y, insulin levels, body mass index and weight were measured five times on 0, 7th, 14th and 28th days of Ramadan and on the 14th day post-Ramadan. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 11.5) using repeated measures ANOVA to find whether any changes occurred in the variables of interest during the study, and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the relations among the variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant change in fasting blood sugar, neuropeptide Y and leptin was observed during the study (p< 0.05). Fasting blood sugar decreased significantly during Ramadan and increased after Ramadan, with the lowest value at the end of Ramadan. Neuropeptide Y increased both during Ramadan and two weeks after Ramadan. Also, leptin decreased significantly two weeks after Ramadan compared to the end of Ramadan. No significant change was observed in insulin level during the study (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The result of this study revealed the important role of leptin and neuropeptide Y in the long term regulation of energy balance in pregnant women with chronic diurnal fasting, and it further revealed that Ramadan fasting did not significantly change the serum insulin level.
authors: 1. Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. nikakhosh@gmail.com.
authors: Abolfazl
authors: A
authors: Khoshdel
authors: 2. Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. kheiri@hbi.ir.
authors: Soleiman
authors: S
authors: Kheiri
authors: 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. asiri_j@skums.ac.ir.
authors: Jafar
authors: J
authors: Nasiri
authors: 4. Lecturer, Research Center of Medicine, Religion and Medical Ethics, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran. ahmari4237@gmail.com.
authors: Hoda Ahmari
authors: HA
authors: Tehran
authors: 5. Associate Professor, Clinical Biochemistry Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. heidarian_e@skums.ac.ir.
authors: Esfandiar
authors: E
authors: Heidarian
keywords: Fasting; Insulin; Leptin; Neuropeptide Y; Pregnancy