Dawn to sunset fasting and the fatigue manifestations of Post COVID-19 syndrome: A Case control study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 1 Nutrition Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt

2 2 Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud university, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

3 3 Department of Health administration and behavioral science, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt

4 4 Department of Biostatistics, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt.

5 5 Medical Resident, Marien-Hospital Euskrichen, Academic teaching hospital of the university of Bonn, Germany

6 6 College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Private Bag 360, Chichiri, Blantyre 3, Malawi.

7 7 Food Science and Nutrition Department, CAMS, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

10.21608/enj.2025.467142

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A growing number of individuals previously infected with the SARS-CoV-2 have reported persistent symptoms which are called post-COVID syndrome. It is a widely prevailing problem in which chronic fatigue is primarily the most common reported symptom in up to 72% cases. Therefore, solutions should be made to help post COVID-19 syndrome patients overcome this major problem. Dawn to sunset fasting plays an important role in human health and it has many beneficial effects on fatigue, mood, and wellbeing. Thus, our study aims to investigate the effect of dawn to sunset fasting on fatigue manifestation among post COVID-19 cases compared to the control.  A case control study was carried out in which two groups were assigned and evaluated by the Piper fatigue scale during dawn to sunset fasting.  The results showed that fatigue manifestation, during dawn to sunset fasting, was less severe among cases versus control. Only 6% of post COVID-19 cases had severe fatigue symptoms compared to 21.5% of control. It was concluded that fasting may be a good solution for cases suffering from post-COVID-19 syndrome to regain their health and reduce their daily sense of chronic fatigue that will improve their quality of life. Further research needs to be carried out on a large scale.

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