BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

• Potassium intake is associated with lower BP and lower risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD)
• Wouda et al. (European Heart Journal, 2022) analyzed whether the associations between daily potassium consumption and BP and CVD differ between men and women

METHODS:

• Secondary analysis of a prospective, population-based cohort study
  • European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk)
• Participants
  • Adults in the UK
  • 40 to 79 years
• Exposures
  • 24-hour excretion of sodium and potassium, reflecting intake
• Study design
  • Sodium and potassium intake was estimated from sodium and potassium concentration in spot urine samples using a validated formula
  • Linear regression and Cox proportional hazards model stratified by sex used to explore the association between potassium intake and the primary outcomes
• Primary outcomes
  • Systolic BP (SBP)
  • CVD events (defined as hospitalization or death due to CVD)

RESULTS:

• 11,267 men | 13,696 women
  • Median follow-up: 19.5 years
• After adjusting for confounders, there was an interaction by sex for the association between potassium intake and SBP (P<0.001)
  • In women, but not in men, the inverse relationship between potassium intake and SBP was stronger in those within the highest tertile of sodium intake compared with those within the lowest tertile of sodium intake
• In both women and men, higher potassium intake was associated with a lower risk of CVD events
  • The hazard ratio (HR) associated with higher potassium intake was lower in women than in men (P=0.033 for interaction by sex)
    • Men, highest vs. lowest potassium intake tertile
      • HR 0.93 (95% CI, 0.87 to 1.00)
    • Women
      • HR 0.89 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.95)

CONCLUSION:

• The association between replete potassium intake and BP and CVD is sex-specific
• Women particularly benefit from a higher potassium intake in regard to blood pressure
• The authors state

In conclusion, we demonstrate that the association between daily potassium intake, SBP, and CVD events is sex specific

In women, the association between potassium intake and SBP was modified by sodium intake

Considering the natriuretic effects of potassium, these findings seem consistent with increased sodium sensitivity of BP in women 

Learn More – Primary Sources:

Sex-specific associations between potassium intake, blood pressure, and cardiovascular outcomes: the EPIC-Norfolk study

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