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Oral potassium supplementation for management of essential hypertension: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

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  • Jalal Poorolajal
  • Fatemeh Zeraati
  • Ali Reza Soltanian
  • Vida Sheikh
  • Elham Hooshmand
  • Akram Maleki

Abstract

Importance: Increased dietary potassium intake is thought to be associated with low blood pressure (BP). Whether potassium supplementation may be used as an antihypertensive agent is a question that should be answered. Objective: To assess the effect of oral potassium supplementation on blood pressure in patients with primary hypertension. Search methods: We searched Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials until October 2016. We also screened reference lists of articles and previous reviews. We applied no language restrictions. Selection criteria: We included randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials addressing the effect of potassium supplementation on primary hypertension for a minimum of 4 weeks. Data collection and analysis: We extracted data on systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) at the final follow-up. We explored the heterogeneity across studies using Cochran's test and I2 statistic and assessed the probability of publication bias using Begg's and Egger's tests. We reported the mean difference (MD) of SBP and DBP in a random-effects model. Results: We found a total of 9059 articles and included 23 trials with 1213 participants. Compared to placebo, potassium supplementation resulted in modest but significant reductions in both SBP (MD -4.25 mmHg; 95% CI: -5.96 to -2.53; I2 = 41%) and DBP (MD -2.53 mmHg; 95% CI: -4.05 to -1.02; I2 = 65%). According to the change-score analysis, based on 8 out of 23 trials, compared to baseline, the mean changes in SBP (MD -8.89 mmHg; 95% CI: -13.67 to -4.11) and DBP (MD -6.42 mmHg; 95% CI: -10.99 to -1.84) was significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that potassium supplementation is a safe medication with no important adverse effects that has a modest but significant impact BP and may be recommended as an adjuvant antihypertensive agent for patients with essential hypertension.

Suggested Citation

  • Jalal Poorolajal & Fatemeh Zeraati & Ali Reza Soltanian & Vida Sheikh & Elham Hooshmand & Akram Maleki, 2017. "Oral potassium supplementation for management of essential hypertension: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0174967
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174967
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    Cited by:

    1. Jalal Poorolajal & Shahla Noornejad, 2021. "Metaplot: A new Stata module for assessing heterogeneity in a meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-12, June.
    2. Regina Ewa Wierzejska, 2021. "Dietary Supplements—For Whom? The Current State of Knowledge about the Health Effects of Selected Supplement Use," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-24, August.

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