dietary potassium predicts mortality

From: Doug Skrecky (oberon@vcn.bc.ca)
Date: Tue Oct 20 1998 - 09:58:55 MDT


Authors
  Tunstall-Pedoe H. Woodward M. Tavendale R. A'Brook R. McCluskey MK.
Institution
  Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Ninewells Hospital, and Medical School,
  Dundee. h.tunstallpedoe:dundee.ac.uk
Title
  Comparison of the prediction by 27 different factors of coronary heart
  disease and death in men and women of the Scottish Heart Health Study: cohort
  study [published erratum appears in BMJ 1998 Jun 20;316(7148):1881].
Source
  BMJ. 315(7110):722-9, 1997 Sep 20.
Abstract
  OBJECTIVE: To compare prediction by 27 different factors in men and women of
  coronary heart disease events, coronary deaths, and deaths from all causes.
  DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Scottish population study. SUBJECTS: In 1984-7
  random sampling of residents aged 40-59 produced 11,629 men and women who
  generated survey clinic questionnaires, examination findings, and blood and
  urine specimens. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subsequent death, coronary artery
  surgery, and myocardial infarction. Risks were calculated for each category
  of factor or fifth of continuous variables. 27 factors were ranked by
  descending age adjusted hazard ratio of the top to bottom class in each
  factor, by sex and end point. RESULTS: Follow up averaged 7.6 years, during
  which the 5754 men had 404 coronary events, 159 coronary deaths, and 383
  deaths and the 5875 women 177, 47, and 208 respectively. The rankings for
  factors for the three end points were mainly similar in men and women,
  although hazard ratios were often higher in women. Classical risk factors
  ranked better for predicting coronary risk than newer ones. Yet strong
  prediction of coronary risk was no guarantee of significant prediction of all
  cause mortality. Findings included an anomalous coronary
  protective role for type A behaviour in women; raised plasma fibrinogen as a
  strong predictor of all end points; and an unexpectedly powerful protective
  relation of dietary potassium to all cause mortality.
  CONCLUSIONS: These initial unifactorial rankings and comparisons must be
  interpreted with caution until potential interaction, confounding, and
  problems of measurement and causation are further explored.



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