PREVALENCE OF HYPOTHYROIDISM IN PATIENTS WITH HYPONATREMIA

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to establish prevalence of hypothyroidism in hyponatremic patients and secondly, to evaluate the relationship between hyponatremia and thyroid dysfunction, and thus emphasizing the necessity of thyroid function checking in patients with hyponatremia. Results: The study involved 200 patients with hyponatremia out of these 120 (60%) of them had hypothyroidism. Among the hypothyroid patients, the incidence of hyponatremia was stratified by severity: 45 (37.5%) of patients had moderate hyponatremia with serum sodium levels between 130-134mmol 60 (50.0%) had severe hyponatremia with serum sodium levels between 125-129mmol and 15 (12.5%) had severe hyponatremia with serum sodium <125mmol. The mean age of the participants was 55.4 ± 12.3 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.2. Odds for comorbidity were hypertension at 45%, diabetes mellitus at 30%, and cardiovascular disease at 25%. Conclusion: The results presented show that hypothyroidism is a very widespread disease among patients with hyponatremia, which points to a definite relationship between these diseases. The evaluation of thyroid function should be done in patients with hyponatremia, as hypothyroidism is often undiagnosed and treatable condition that affects patients’ prognosis.