Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33849496›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2021

Fasting serum potassium and long-term mortality in healthy men.

Ragnhild S Falk, Trude Eid Robsahm, Jan Erik Paulsen, Tanja Stocks, Isabel Drake, Trond Heir

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Blood biomarkers and breed genetics of aging in pet dogs.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Ragnhild S FalkOslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Oslo University Hospital, Pb 4950 Nydalen, N-0424, Oslo, Norway. r.s.falk@medisin.uio.no.ORCID 0000-0001-8398-3492
Trude Eid RobsahmDepartment of Research, Cancer registry of Norway, Institute of Population Based Cancer Research, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-1652-7734
Jan Erik PaulsenDepartment of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-0578-8701
Tanja StocksDepartment of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-0904-0557
Isabel DrakeDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-6500-6310
Trond HeirInstitute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0001-9616-0145
Lund University · SECancer Registry of Norway · NONorwegian University of Life Sciences · NOOslo University Hospital · NOUniversity of Oslo · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSerum potassium levels have been positively associated with cardiovascular mortality, but little is known about the association with cancer mortality and death due to other causes. We examined whether serum levels of potassium were associated with long-term mortality in a healthy cohort.

methodsOslo Ischemia Study invited 2341 initially healthy men aged 40-59 years with no use of medication to a comprehensive health survey in 1972. Fasting serum level of potassium (mmol/L) was ascertained at baseline for 1989 men. We have complete follow-up for death throughout 2017. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and adjusted for multiple confounders.

resultsAfter a median follow-up of 30 years (interquartile range 21.2-38.7), 1736 deaths were observed, of which 494 were cancer deaths, 688 cardiovascular deaths, and 536 deaths related to other causes. Restricted cubic spline analysis showed that potassium level was linearly and positively associated with long-term cancer mortality; HR per mmol/L 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.4. Compared with low levels of potassium (≤ 4.0 mmol/L), men with high levels (≥4.6 mmol/L) showed a significantly 78% higher risk of cancer death. A positive linear association was found for all-cause mortality (HR per mmol/L 1.6, 95% CI 1.4-1.8), and for cardiovascular (HR per mmol/L 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.7) and other cause mortality (HR per mmol/L 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2).

conclusionsThese findings suggest that serum potassium level appears to predict long-term mortality in healthy middle-aged men, and it might imply future surveillance strategies for individuals with high serum potassium levels.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesFastingAdultCohort StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPotassiumProportional Hazards ModelsRisk FactorsPotassiumCancerCell proliferationMortalityPotassium levelsProspective cohort study

Identifiers

PMID33849496
PMCPMC8045339
OpenAlexW3153447040

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.