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BMJ 2003; 326 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0306218 (Published 01 June 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;326:0306218
  1. Andreas Fox, senior house officer1,
  2. Sunjay Jain, specialist registrar1,
  3. Tim R Terry, consultant1
  1. 1department of urology, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW

During the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims typically change their eating habits from three meals a day to two. A small study compared 28 men with high lipid concentrations who “fasted” during Ramadan and 10 men with normal lipid concentrations who did not fast, and found that a low fat, low calorie diet made no difference to the non-fasters. It produced a significant reduction in cholesterol concentrations and energy intake, however, for those who fasted (Saudi Medical Journal 2003;24:184-8).

Its good to discover that at least some of the UK governments initiatives for improving care seem to have achieved their aim. A longitudinal observational study in general practice found great improvements in access to services, practices organisation of chronic disease management, and the quality of angina care (British Journal of General Practice 2003;53:298-304). Sadly, quality scores for mental health care and elderly care did not change.

Migration of workers across international borders clearly promotes the exportation of occupational diseases. But published data are scarce. The absence of studies, says a writer in the International Journal of Public Health (2003;48:1-2), reflects neither the dearth of disease nor the sophistication of the science. Its due to the problem of obtaining reliable exposure histories in people who are …

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