Religious fasting and intraocular pressure

Purpose: To determine the effects of Islamic religious fasting on intraocul ar pressure. Methods: The authors measured diurnal intraocular pressure values during re ligious fasting and 1 month later in 38 healthy male volunteers with a mean age of 22.4 +/- 2.7 years. Body weight and urine specific gravity were det ermined to assess the extent of dehydration caused by fasting. Results: Although each patient had weight loss (0.1-1.4 kg) representing a slight dehydration caused by fasting, intraocular pressure values were not statistically different between fasting and nonfasting periods (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Fasting did not alter diurnal intraocular pressure values in he althy people.