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A diagnosis of ulcerative colitis is associated with inflammation of the colon and can lead to several systemic effects, one of which is a decrease in hemoglobin levels. This decrease can occur due to chronic blood loss from the inflamed mucosa of the colon, as ulcerative colitis can lead to ulceration and bleeding. Patients may experience symptoms of anemia as a result, which relates directly to the finding of decreased hemoglobin.

In contrast, hypercalcemia and hypernatremia are not typical findings associated with ulcerative colitis; they pertain to other metabolic disorders. Frothy, fatty stools are indicative of steatorrhea, which is more characteristic of malabsorption syndromes rather than ulcerative colitis. Therefore, decreased hemoglobin effectively captures a key complication of ulcerative colitis, making it the correct answer in this context.