Global Trends (1961-2017) in Human Dietary Potassium Supplies

Potassium (K) is an essential mineral and major intracellular electrolyte involved in the regulation of blood pressure, muscle contraction and nerve transmission in humans. Major dietary sources of K include fruits and vegetables, starchy roots and tubers, and whole grains. The aim of this study was to assess and report: (i) the sufficiency of K in national food systems globally, (ii) to quantify the contribution from food groups, and (iii) to explore spatial and temporal trends in the period of 1961-2017.

Food supply and demography (1961-2017), K composition and K requirement data were combined to estimate per capita human dietary supplies of potassium (DSK), adequate intake of K (AIK) and K sufficiency ratio (KSR) at national, regional, continental and global levels.

Globally, the mean ± SD. DSK (mg capita^-1 d^-1) increased from 2984 ± 915 in 1961 to 3796 ± 1161 in 2017. There was a wide range in DSK between geographical regions and across years, with particularly large increases in east Asia, where DSK increased from <3000 to >5000 mg capita^-1 day^-1. Roots and tubers contributed the largest dietary source of K, providing up to 80% of DSK in most regions. At the global level, throughout the 57-year period, the population-weighted KSR was <1 based on the 2006 Institute of Medicine AIK recommendation, while it was >1 based on the 2019 National Academies of Science and the 2016 European Union AIK recommendation. While KSR ≥ 1 shows sufficiency of DSK, KSR < 1 does not indicate K deficiency risk.

Due to the absence of a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for K, this study used the ratio of DSK:AIK (i.e., KSR) to assess dietary K sufficiency. Estimates of dietary K sufficiency are, therefore, highly sensitive to the AIK reference value used and this varied greatly based on different institutions and years. To quantify the risk of dietary K deficiency, bridging the data gap to establish an RDA for K should be a global research priority.