Potassium, calcium, and magnesium intakes and risk of stroke in women

Am J Epidemiol. 2011 Jul 1;174(1):35-43. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr051. Epub 2011 May 3.

Abstract

The authors examined the association between dietary potassium, calcium, and magnesium intakes and the incidence of stroke among 34,670 women 49-83 years of age in the Swedish Mammography Cohort who completed a food frequency questionnaire in 1997. The authors used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate relative risks and 95% confidence intervals. During a mean follow-up of 10.4 years (1998-2008), 1,680 stroke events were ascertained, including 1,310 cerebral infarctions, 154 intracerebral hemorrhages, 79 subarachnoid hemorrhages, and 137 unspecified strokes. There was no overall association between potassium, calcium, or magnesium intake and the risk of any stroke or cerebral infarction. However, among women with a history of hypertension, potassium intake was inversely associated with risk of all types of stroke (for highest vs. lowest quintile, adjusted relative risk = 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45, 0.92) and cerebral infarction (corresponding adjusted relative risk = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.84), and magnesium intake was inversely associated with risk of cerebral infarction (corresponding adjusted relative risk = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.93). Calcium intake was positively associated with risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (for highest vs. lowest tertile, adjusted relative risk = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.24, 3.35). These findings suggest that potassium and magnesium intakes are inversely associated with the risk of cerebral infarction among hypertensive women.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Calcium, Dietary / administration & dosage*
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage / epidemiology
  • Cerebral Infarction / epidemiology
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / complications*
  • Hypertension / epidemiology
  • Incidence
  • Magnesium / administration & dosage*
  • Middle Aged
  • Potassium, Dietary / administration & dosage*
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Stroke / diet therapy
  • Stroke / epidemiology*
  • Stroke / etiology
  • Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / epidemiology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Sweden / epidemiology

Substances

  • Calcium, Dietary
  • Potassium, Dietary
  • Magnesium