A Swedish study has shown that an average global temperature increase of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit could lead to a 14% increase in hospitalizations for critically low sodium levels in the blood, a condition called hyponatremia.
The study which was recently published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that an increase in hospitalizations for a dangerous low-salt condition is the latest in a growing list of health threats linked to climate change.
Hyponatremia can be caused by diseases such as heart, kidney and liver failure, as well as from excessive sweating or fluid intake that dilutes sodium (salt) concentrations in the blood.
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To undertake this study, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden, analyzed nine years of data on Swedish adults and identified more than 11,000 hospitalizations for hyponatremia. While most of them were women, their median age was 76, meaning half were older, half younger.
They found that the risk was nearly 10 times higher on the hottest days than on the coolest days, with women and the elderly having the highest odds while those 80 and older were 15 times more likely to be hospitalized for hyponatremia during heat waves.
The researchers applied the data to a model forecasting global warming of 1.8 to 3.6 degrees F, which matches projections for 2050 from the United Nations’Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The results showed that hospital admissions due to hyponatremia could increase by 6.3% with a 1.8-degree F increase and by 13.9% with a 3.6 degree F increase.
First author Buster Mannheimer, an adjunct senior lecturer in Karolinska’s Department of Clinical Science and Education said “Our study is the first to provide precise estimates of how temperature influences the risk of hyponatremia, findings that could be used to inform health care planning for adapting to climate change,”.
Story was adapted from UPI.
