The Role of Hyponatremia and Seasonality in the Occurrence of Hip Fractures and Long-term Mortality among in Older Inpatients
2Pat Matthews Academic School of Nursing, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Israel
Purpose:
This study aimed to explore whether there is any combined effect of seasonality and hyponatremia on the occurrence of hip fractures among older inpatients; and to explore the effect of hyponatremia on admission on long-term mortality among hip fracture patients following hip fracture repair surgery in the context of Israel’s subtropical climate.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of older inpatients who had undergone surgery for hip fracture repair in a major 495-bed hospital located in northern-central Israel in 2017-2020. Patients were divided into two groups: hyponatremic (n = 107) and normonatremic (n = 757) patients. Characteristics of the two groups were compared, as well as their survival probability.
Results:
Hyponatremic older inpatients were most frequently hospitalized during the winter season. Such seasonal variation was observed only among hyponatremic patients. Moreover, older patients who were hospitalized during the winter season were more likely to be hyponatremic on admission. Hyponatremia on admission was found to be a significant independent predictor of long-term mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.377 [0.26-0.52]), when compared to normonatremia.
Conclusions:
There appears to be a combined effect of seasonality and hyponatremia on the occurrence of hip fractures among older inpatients, with hyponatremic older patients being at a higher risk of sustaining a hip fracture during the winter season than during other seasons. In addition, the association between hyponatremia on admission and long-term mortality among hip fracture patients has been confirmed.