Exposure to higher temperatures may increase hyponatremia risk for older adults
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- Exposure to elevated heat indices correlated with higher hyponatremia rate.
- Relative risk significantly increased when the heat index was above 15°C and peaked at 1.26 at a 30°C heat index.
Heat exposure may be linked to increased risk for hyponatremia for older adults, particularly women, according to results of a cross-sectional study of hospitalized adults.
“Extreme weather conditions, including high temperatures, represent a hazard to human health and well-being,” Monika Prpic, MSc, of Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin’s Institute of Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry in Germany, wrote with colleagues. “Excessive heat often worsens preexisting conditions and can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. ... Our analysis delved deeper into heat-related hyponatremia, incorporating factors such as comorbidities, age and sex.”
Researchers set out to investigate the link between short-term exposure to high temperatures and seasonal-related hyponatremia. Prpic and colleagues analyzed 7,135,688 blood sodium measurements from 2,028,537 hospital visits at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin from March 2000 to August 2023. At admission, mean age of patients was 57.8 years and 51.7% of the cohort were men.
The daily heat index, accounting for outdoor air temperature and relative humidity, served as the exposure, and the main outcome was the daily number of hyponatremia cases.
Findings showed exposure to elevated heat indices correlated with higher hyponatremia rate, defined by low sodium blood levels. The cumulative relative risk during a lag period of 5 days for moderate (sodium of 125 mEq/L to 129 mEq/L) and severe cases (sodium less than 125 mEq/L) peaked at 1.26 (95%; CI, 1.07-1.48) at a 30°C heat index.
Older women had a cumulative RR of 1.1 (95%; CI, 1.03-1.18) at 26°C heat index vs. men.
Researchers found the highest risk on lag day 0 for all subgroups: older patients (RR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1-1.08); moderate and severe hyponatremia in older patients (RR = 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.1); and older women (RR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01-1.12). Risk significantly increased when the heat index was above 15°C (RR = 1.01; 95% CI, 1-1.02).
Prpic and colleagues underscored the “need for targeted prevention strategies, including education on drinking behaviors and regular sodium monitoring, particularly in facilities dealing with at-risk populations such as patients with dementia, including nursing homes and geriatric wards,” they wrote. “Enhanced regulatory measures and awareness in health care, such as promoting hydration balance, monitoring early symptoms, and ensuring proper temperature control, are crucial to mitigate heat-related hyponatremia.”
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts