Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Oct 15;19(1):265.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-019-1282-0.

Prevalence of mild hyponatremia and its association with falls in older adults admitted to an emergency geriatric medicine unit (the MUPA unit)

Sophie Boyer  1   2 , Caroline Gayot  2   3 , Charlotte Bimou  1 , Thomas Mergans  3   4 , Patrick Kajeu  2   4 , Muriel Castelli  2   4 , Thierry Dantoine  1 , Achille Tchalla  5   6   7   8   9
Affiliations

Prevalence of mild hyponatremia and its association with falls in older adults admitted to an emergency geriatric medicine unit (the MUPA unit)

Sophie Boyer et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder in older adults and it can increase morbidity and mortality. Approximately one in three older adults fall each year; mild chronic hyponatremia can predispose this group to injurious falls and fractures and serum levels of sodium can also influence bone health. Little is known regarding the association between mild chronic hyponatremia and injurious fall prevalence in elderly patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED). Therefore, the present study investigated the link between mild hyponatremia and the risk of injurious falls in elderly patients admitted to the Emergency Geriatric Medicine Unit (The MUPA Unit).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over 4 months and included patients ≥75 years of age who were admitted to the MUPA Unit of University Hospital Center of Limoges (France). Sociodemographic factors, fall events, comorbidities, medications, and sodium levels were assessed (hyponatremia was considered as sodium level < 136 mEq/L). Additionally, the short Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (short-CGA), the Frailty score on the Short Emergency Geriatric Assessment (SEGA), and the Katz Activity of Daily Living (ADL) scale were administered.

Results: Of the 696 cases included in the final analysis, the mean age was 86.1 ± 5.6 years and 63.1% were female. The prevalence of falls was 27.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24.6-31.2%) and that of mild hyponatremia was 15.9% (95% CI: 13.2-18.6%). The prevalence rate of mild hyponatremia was 13.2% (95% CI: 10.1-16.3%) in patients without falls and 26.1% (95% CI: 19.8-32.4%) in patients admitted for falls. Mild hyponatremia was significantly associated with falls (P < 0.001) and the adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 3.02 (95% CI: 1.84-4.96).

Conclusions: Because mild hyponatremia might be a risk factor for injurious falls and ED admission, determination of sodium levels during basic biomarker assessment on ED admission could be an important component of fall prevention strategies for the elderly.

Keywords: Emergency department; Falls; Mild hyponatremia; Older adult; Prevalence; Prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of patients admitted to the Emergency Geriatric Medicine Unit (MUPA) Unit from November 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 in Limoges, France
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tinetti ME, Speechley M. Prevention of falls among the elderly. N Engl J Med. 1989;320(16):1055–1059. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198904203201606. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tinetti ME, Speechley M, Ginter SF. Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community. N Engl J Med. 1988;319(26):1701–1707. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198812293192604. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sterling DA, O'Connor JA, Bonadies J. Geriatric falls: injury severity is high and disproportionate to mechanism. J Trauma. 2001;50(1):116–119. doi: 10.1097/00005373-200101000-00021. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Suzuki M, Yamada K, Takahashi H, Tsuchiya S. A study of falls among elderly living in the community. Nihon Kango Kagakkaishi. 1993;13(2):10–19. - PubMed
    1. Mosenthal AC, Livingston DH, Elcavage J, Merritt S, Stucker S. Falls: epidemiology and strategies for prevention. J Trauma. 1995;38(5):753–756. doi: 10.1097/00005373-199505000-00013. - DOI - PubMed