Hyponatremia for Everyone. #3. How Common is Hyponatremia?

By Second Medical Opinions PLC | SMO Blog Kidney | 22 Nov 2019

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.

This post appeared here, as part of a series. The author is the same. The series was published as an ebook, which you can find in Amazon Kindle format and Apple Books Format.

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