Table 1.
HRs of death at each range of serum potassium level
| S-K category and outcome | Very low n = 5573 | Low n = 56,461 | Normal n = 143,906 | Elevated n = 18,410 | High n = 5006 | Very high n = 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S-K range, mEq/l | ≤3.0 | 3.1≤ S-K ≤3.5 | 3.6≤ S-K ≤5.0 | 5.1≤ S-K ≤5.4 | 5.5≤ S-K ≤5.9 | 6.0≤ |
| Death, n (%) | 1620 (29.1) | 7133 (12.6) | 2310 (1.6) | 3583 (19.5) | 1357 (27.1) | 825 (41.7) |
| Univariate analysis, HR (95% CI) | 22.1 (20.7–23.5) | 8.3 (7.9–8.7) | Reference | 12.6 (11.9–13.2) | 18.7 (17.5–20.0) | 33.8 (31.2–36.6) |
| Multivariate analysis,a HR (95% CI) | 12.7 (11.9–13.6) | 6.4 (6.1–6.8) | Reference | 7.6 (7.2–8.0) | 10.6 (9.9–11.4) | 17.7 (16.3–19.2) |
CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; S-K, serum potassium.
a
Adjusted by age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, and high-risk comorbidities including chronic kidney disease, heart failure, diabetes, and hypertension.