Diabetes insipidus currently affects 1 in 25,000 people. Diabetes insipidus, both central and nephrogenic, can be hereditary or acquired. Acquired forms of DI are much more common than hereditary forms, which account for only about 6–10% of DI cases. Primary polydipsia is most often associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective or bipolar disorders, but has also been described in patients with anxiety and anorexia or other addictive disorders . In most patients with central DI, osmoregulated thirst is intact, and therefore oral fluid intake accurately compensates for urinary and insensible water losses. Therefore, even without treatment, patients are usually eunatremic. Treatment is usually initiated with desmopressin. The main complication of desmopressin therapy is hyponatremia. A retrospective review found that 27% of patients with central DI have mild hyponatremia on routine electrolyte testing, and 15% develop more severe hyponatremia with long-term follow-up.

diabetes insipidus, etiology of polyuria-polydepsia syndrome, desmopressin

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