Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte imbalance present in the hospitalized patient. It is frequently associated to increased morbidity and mortality. It has been measured at 5.5% of all the hospitalized patients in a study¹ and was associated with an increase in complications, an increase in cost and use of resources. The same study demonstrates that older patients, patients in the intensive case unit (ICU) and patients who end up dying have an increased prevalence of hyponatremia. There are conditions that are known to be closely related to hyponatremia in the hospitalized patient, such as decompensated heart failure, cirrhosis, renal failure, malignancies, etc.

Hyponatremia is not only a problem of the hospital. It is also common in the general population. It has been measured at 1.72% of all people in another study² . It is more common in older people, in women and in subjects with the following conditions: hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, psychiatric disorders, and it is less common in people with no comorbidities

Marco A. Ramos MD

References

1. Marya Zilberberg, Alex Exuzides, James Spalding, Aimee Foreman, Alison Jones, Chris Colby, and Andrew Shorr. “Epidemiology, Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Admission Hyponatremia among Hospitalized Patients.” Current Medical Research and Opinion 24, no. 6 (June 2008): 1601-8. https://doi.org/10.1185/03007990802081675.

2. S. Mohan, S. Gu, A. Parikh, and J Radhakrishnan. “Prevalence of hyponatremia and association with mortality: Results from NHANES.” The American Journal of Medicine 126, no. 12 (December 2013):1127-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.07.021.

Any information or statement present in this post does not replace your health care provider’s advice or treatment. This blog does not provide medical advice, prescribe medications or therapies, or diagnose conditions, it only expresses an opinion. If you have a health-related question or condition, confer with your healthcare provider.

- In order to quote from this article please use the following:

Marco A. Ramos, “Hyponatremia for Everyone. #3. How Common is Hyponatremia?,” SMO Blog (blog), August 12, 2018, https://steemit.com/health/@secondmedicalop/hyponatremia-for-everyone-3-how-common-is-hyponatremia

Read the other sections of this series:

Introduction
What Causes Hyponatremia? A
What Causes Hyponatremia? B
What Causes Hyponatremia? C
What Causes Hyponatremia? D