Decreased anxiety after Dawood fasting in the pre-elderly and elderly

Abstract

Background A high prevalence of anxiety in the elderly often leads to decreased quality of life (QOL). A restrictive diet can increase the production of ketone bodies that encourage mood enhancement, neural protection and pain reduction. This study aimed to identify whether Dawood fasting could increase the QOL of the elderly by reducing anxiety. Methods This research was a quasi-experimental study involving a pretest–post-test control group design. The subjects were pre-elderly and elderly or healthy people aged more than 50, and a consecutive sampling method was employed. The fasting group observed the fast of Dawood, in which they abstained from eating, drinking, or having sexual intercourse from the break of dawn to dusk with the expressed intent to fast every other day. The fast was observed for 22 days (11 fasting days). Anxiety was examined using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRS-A), while QOL was identified using the Indonesian version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL). Results A total of 48 respondents participated in this study with 24 respondents observing the fast of Dawood and 24 others not fasting. Results showed that the 22 days of Dawood fast reduced respondents’ complaints about anxiety by 4.37% and was significantly different from the non-fasting group (p=0.001). There was an increase in the QOL of the fasting group (p=0.019), although no significant difference was found when compared to the non-fasting group. Conclusions The fast of Dawood reduced anxiety in the pre-elderly and elderly.

The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Religiosity in Poland

“…Our study shows a correlation between increased religiosity during the pandemic and endorsement of the statements "I meet my friends and family outside my household quite regularly" (this was forbidden at the time of the survey) and "At Easter, I adhered less strictly to the recommendations about not leaving home and not meeting other people". These observations may be taken to indicate that people who pray more are less fearful of the pandemic than others, and this is consistent with other research findings showing that religious people are characterized by low anxiety (Fidianingsih et al 2018). However, our study also identified some contradictions to such a portrayal, with people declaring that they had devoted more time to religious commitments during the pandemic also indicating that they had tried to take care of their immunity better than other respondents, and that they had worn masks more often than others (even when there was no obligation to do so).…”

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Effect of Dawood Fasting on the Increased Level of Antioxidant Enzymes

“…The fasting includes abstinence from eating, drinking, or smoking, and the recommendation is to start it with having a pre-dawn meal and to end it by eating iftar in the evening. Our previous study showed that although DF indicates no changes in the parameters of lipid profile, hematology [19], and quality of life among the elderly [20], there is a decrease in the oxidative stress and lipid profile among the mice given high carbohydrate and fat diets [21]. The purpose of this study is to prove the effect of DF on the changes in SOD, GPx, and Cat antioxidant enzymes in BALB/c strain mice.…”