It is a term used to describe the secretion of urine of abnormally low specific gravity.
Urinary specific gravity refers to a measure of the concentration of particles in urine as well as the density of urine when compared to water.
Medical experts use this parameter to determine how well the kidneys are diluting the urine.
The primary function of the kidneys consists of filtering the blood to keep a stable electrolyte balance (relative concentrations of ions in the bodily fluids).
Hyposthenuria features a Low Urinary Specific Gravity, which occurs because of the kidneys being unable to concentrate the urine as they should. That results in a reduced concentration of solutes in the urine.
Medical experts consider clinical Hyposthenuria the cases that feature a Urinary Specific Gravity below 1.010 g/l (the average should be around 1.030 g/l).
This condition usually affects cats, dogs, and horses, but it can also occur in humans.
Related Diseases
More often than not, Hyposthenuria is a sign of electrolyte or solutes imbalances that result from chronic renal failure.
However, there is a wide variety of processes involved in the development of Hyposthenuria in humans.
Some of them don’t always occur due to external or pathological agents. For example, excessive consumption of water can lead a patient to develop Hyposthenuria.
Even though drinking water is essential to maintain the body in a healthy condition, overconsumption can alter the way the kidneys process the urine and results in a low urinary density.
Something that could likely induce such situation is Polydipsia, which consists of excessive fluid intake that causes the body to urinate too much and too often.
Polydipsia can occur due to stress/anxiety, the use of specific drugs/vitamins, or low levels of antidiuretic hormones.
Another disease that can potentially cause of Hyposthenuria is Diabetes Insipidus, a condition that consists of the inadequate or impaired output of the pituitary hormone (also known as vasopressin).
This condition results in Polydipsia and also features a lacking response by the kidney to antidiuretic hormones.
Several kidney diseases can also cause Hyposthenuria, and some significant examples are the ones that follow:
Medullary Cystic Kidney Disease is a rare inherited condition that features small, fluid-filled sacs (cysts) forming in the center of the kidneys.
This disease can scar the tissues of the kidney tubules, essential structures that filter blood and form the urine. Such damage causes the tubules to malfunction.
Nephronophthisis refers to a disorder characterized by inflammation and fibrosis that impairs the kidney function.
This abnormality also causes Polydipsia and anemia. It eventually leads patients to develop End-Stage Renal Disease, which is a condition that can result in death.
Risk Factors For Hyposthenuria
Some circumstances and specific situations can potentially increase the risk of developing this conditions.
Some of these factors could include simple things such as age, and poor dietary habits.
When it comes to meals, medical experts recommend that people should try to avoid foods high in sodium, potassium, and phosphorus.
Other more complicated factors are diseases like Renovascular Hypertension, which consists of elevated blood pressure caused by the narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the kidneys.
Experts had been researching the family history of several patients that show signs of Hyposthenuria in search of some inherited pathologies that could cause this symptom.
Some of the indicators they often evaluate are levels of creatinine, which can result in Polydipsia if they increase beyond the average values.
A high blood sugar concentration can also increase the risk of developing Hyposthenuria.
Hyperhydration & Dehydration
Measuring the specific gravity of urine is a relatively easy task for healthcare providers.
Doctors will likely tell their patients to avoid taking medications before the test, which will require around 1 to 2 ounces of urine.
More often than not, the level of density in the urine, in the case of healthy people, should be equal to the level of water (hydration) in the body.
Both Hyperhydration (intoxication by excessive intake of water), and Dehydration (deficit of total body water), cause a water imbalance in the body that overtaxes the kidney.
When a patient drinks too much water, the kidneys get overwhelmed because the amount of fluids is too high to remove them through urine.
On the other extreme, if a patient doesn’t take enough fluids, it becomes harder for the kidneys to work and its essential functions get impaired.
While both scenarios have somewhat different effects on the human body, they’re both capable of leading a patient to develop Hyposthenuria.
Hence the importance of adequate consumption of fluids to keep the human body in a healthy condition.