Effect of fasting during the month of Ramadan on serum levels of luteinizing hormone and testosterone in people living in the below sea level environment in the Jordan Valley.

OBJECTIVES: To study a possible effect of Ramadan fasting on luteinizing hormone and testosterone in people of the Jordan Valley. METHODS: A comparative study (n=40) of serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) between people living in the Jordan Valley (JV), n=20, 360 meters below sea level, and those living in Ramtha City (RC), n=20, 600 meters above sea level, was conducted in December, 1998. A similar study (n=40) was also done during January 1999 in fasting people during the month of Ramadan. RESULTS: Serum levels of LH in non-fasting people of the JV were statistically similar to those in people of RC. There was also no difference in serum levels of T between non-fasting people of the JV and those in RC. Serum levels of LH in fasting people of the JV were statistically indifferent from those fasting in RC. Serum T levels in fasting people of the JV, on the other hand, were higher than those in fasting people of RC (76+/-18.3 ng/ml compared to 62.7+/-24.2 ng/ml). CONCLUSIONS: It is probably the environmental factors such as the higher barometric pressure of the JV compared to that at above sea level that play a role in higher serum levels of T in people of the JV. Other factors, such as genetic background and/or the cultural and nutritional characteristics of the people of the JV, may also contribute to this difference in serum T levels.

Plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol in people living in an environment below sea level (Jordan Valley) during fasting in the month of Ramadan.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of Ramadan fasting on plasma levels of ACTH and cortisol in athletic students living in the Jordan Valley (JV) and compare them to those living at above sea level in Ramtha City (RC). METHODS: Sample collection and measurements were done in November 1998 from non-fasting and in December 1998 from fasting people. RESULTS: ACTH levels in non-fasting subjects in the JV were 36 +/- 4 IU/ml compared to 43 +/- 3 IU/ml for those in RC. Cortisol levels were 483 +/- 76 (JV) and 539 +/- 89 nmol/l (RC). Fasting led to an increase in ACTH (49 +/- 6 (JV) and 58 +/- 5 IU/ml (RC)) and cortisol levels (637 +/- 101 (JV) and 805 +/- 72 nmol/l (RC)). CONCLUSION: Fasting increases ACTH and cortisol levels in an altitude-independent fashion.