Table 3.
Hazard ration (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for cause-specific and all-cause mortality among initially healthy men during 45 years of follow-up, by fasting level of potassium at baseline
| Potassium level | Cancer death | Cardiovascular death | Other causes of deathd | All-causee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age adjusteda HR (95% CI) |
Multivariable adjustedb HR (95% CI) |
Age adjusteda HR (95% CI) |
Multivariable adjustedb HR (95% CI) |
Age adjusteda HR (95% CI) |
Multivariable adjustedb HR (95% CI) |
Age adjusteda HR (95% CI) |
Multivariable adjustedb HR (95% CI) |
|
| Per mmol/L | 1.90 (1.47–2.46) | 1.78 (1.35–2.35) | 1.41 (1.13–1.76) | 1.37 (1.08–1.74) | 1.67 (1.30–2.15) | 1.65 (1.26–2.17) | 1.62 (1.41–1.87) | 1.57 (1.35–1.82) |
| Per SDc | 1.25 (1.14–1.37) | 1.22 (1.11–1.35) | 1.13 (1.04–1.22) | 1.11 (1.03–1.21) | 1.20 (1.10–1.31) | 1.19 (1.08–1.31) | 1.18 (1.13–1.24) | 1.17 (1.11–1.23) |
| Excluding first 10 years of follow-up, per SDc | 1.25 (1.14–1.37) | 1.23 (1.11–1.36) | 1.12 (1.03–1.21) | 1.11 (1.02–1.21) | 1.20 (1.10–1.31) | 1.20 (1.09–1.32) | 1.18 (1.12–1.24) | 1.17 (1.11–1.24) |
| Low (≤4.0 mmol/L) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) | 1.00 (ref.) |
| Middle (4.1–4.5 mmol/L) | 1.64 (1.25–2.16) | 1.53 (1.16–2.02) | 1.20 (.98–1.48) | 1.16 (.94–1.44) | 1.17 (.93–1.48) | 1.16 (.91–1.48) | 1.31 (1.14–1.50) | 1.25 (1.09–1.44) |
| High (≥4.6 mmol/L) | 2.00 (1.48–2.70) | 1.78 (1.30–2.42) | 1.36 (1.08–1.73) | 1.24 (.96–1.60) | 1.52 (1.17–1.98) | 1.41 (1.07–1.86) | 1.57 (1.35–1.83) | 1.43 (1.22–1.68) |
| P value for linear trend | <.001 | .10 | .01 | <.0001 | ||||
aCox proportional hazards model assuming different baseline hazards for never, former and present smokers with age as the time scale
bAdditional adjustments for body mass index, systolic blood pressure, fitness, fasting blood glucose, sodium, triglycerides, cholesterol, creatinine and sedimentation rate, all measured at baseline
cThe standard deviations (SD) for potassium was .35 mmol/L
dDeath related to other causes than cancer and cardiovascular disease (see supplementary Table 1 for further details)
eThe all-cause analysis includes 18 men without a specified cause of death