Associations between serum sodium level ranges with geriatric syndromes

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Serum sodium levels fluctuate in older adults.
• Normal ranges for serum sodium are debated.
• Geriatric syndromes are common in older populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of common geriatric syndromes across different serum sodium ranges.
• To determine if serum sodium levels within the normal range influence geriatric syndrome prevalence.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 1792 geriatric outpatients (aged ≥60).
• Patients categorized by serum sodium: moderate hyponatremia, mild hyponatremia, lower-normal, upper-normal, and hypernatremia.
• Logistic regression analyzed associations between serum sodium groups and geriatric syndromes.

Main Results:

• Upper-normal serum sodium (141-145 mEq/L) was associated with lower risks of dependency and malnutrition compared to lower-normal ranges.
• Borderline hypernatremia (143-147 mEq/L) showed lower risks of polypharmacy, dependency, malnutrition, and frailty versus borderline hyponatremia (133-137 mEq/L).

Conclusions:

• Higher normal serum sodium levels may be protective against dependency and malnutrition in geriatric patients.
• Borderline hypernatremia appears associated with better outcomes regarding polypharmacy, dependency, frailty, and malnutrition compared to borderline hyponatremia.