Hyponatremia in geriatric patients

Hyponatremia is the most frequent electrolyte imbalance in geriatric medicine. Causes of hyponatremia were retrospectively analyzed in all in-patients treated in 2016 (N = 2267, 1564 women, 703 men, mean age ± standard deviation 81.9 ± 7.6 years). Any form of hyponatremia on admission, during the stay or on discharge was noted in 308 patients (13.6%, 231 women, 77 men; mean age ± standard deviation 83.1 ± 7.3 years, p = 0.009 vs. age of all patients). Women had a higher probability of developing hyponatremia compared to men (p = 0.019), 131 patients were hypovolemic, and dyspnea as an indicator of hypervolemia w…