As summer winds down, hyponatremia costs put at $1.6 billion to $3.6 billion
While hydration experts in the medical community seem to be shifting concern away from ensuring proper hydration (they argue that people generally get enough water and, if anything, too many electrolytes), a new study by Audra Boscoe et al. in Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation published in BioMed Central (Open Access) estimates that 3.2 million to 6.1 million Americans suffer from hyponatremia (a fluid/electrolyte imbalance disorder often associated with consuming too much water and not enough salt). Direct costs of treating hyponatremia are $1.6 billion to $3.6 billion. Hardly insubstantial.
