A common blood disorder, hyponatremia, may be a risk factor for fractures in elderly patients, new research presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology shows. The study from researchers at Erasmus MC suggests that it may be beneficial to screen elderly patients with fractures for this condition.

Hyponatremia is a deficiency of sodium in the blood. It most often occurs in elderly subjects and hospitalised patients. Mild hyponatremia usually does not cause any symptoms and is regarded as a benign condition that does not require treatment. Recent studies indicate mild hyponatremia may be linked to an increased risk of fractures, but this has not been demonstrated in a prospective study before. Fractures in the elderly are most commonly caused by osteoporosis, a condition where bone mineral density is decreased. This predisposes patients to vertebral fractures (which occur to the backbone and can lead to back pain, immobility and loss of height) and non-vertebral fractures (which involve other bones in the body, most commonly the wrist, upper arm or hip).

Using data collected in the population-based Rotterdam study, researchers led by Dr Carola Zillikens at Erasmus MC in The Netherlands analysed blood samples from 5208 elderly men and women to assess their levels of sodium. They also examined how this related to their bone mineral density, recent falls, the number of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures, and mortality over a number of years.

399 (7.7%) patients had hyponatremia. Patients with hyponatremia were 40% more likely to experience a non-vertebral fracture during follow-up than non-sufferers (P=0.004). They were also more likely to have suffered a vertebral fracture at first presentation (P=0.037), but not at follow up. However, hyponatremia was not associated with bone mineral density. Although people with hyponatremia were significantly more likely to have recently suffered a fall (23.8% vs. 16.4%, P