Table 3.

Hazard Ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals for Cardiovascular Mortality Associated with Serum Potassium and Other Risk Factors, NHANES I (1974–1992)

Characteristic	Hazard Ratio	95% Confidence Interval
Age (≥55 y = 1)	7.4	5.1 to 11
Gender (male =1)	1.8	1.4 to 2.4
Race (African American = 1)	0.75	0.46 to 1.2
Systolic BP (20 mmHg)	2.7	2.2 to 3.4
Cholesterol (45 mg/dL)	1.7	1.2 to 2.2
Diuretic use (yes = 1)	1.6	1.1 to 2.4
Renal function (abnormal = 1)	1.2	0.86 to 1.7
History of myocardial infarction/stroke (yes = 1)	2.5	1.4 to 4.7
History of kidney disease (yes = 1)	1.5	0.99 to 2.2
Smoke (yes = 1)	2.8	2.1 to 3.7
Serum potassium (low vs middle)	0.96	0.61 to 1.5
Serum potassium (high vs middle)	1.5	1.0 to 2.3