Association between dietary potassium intake and the prevalence of gallstones in American adults: an assessment of data from the national health and nutrition examination survey

BackgroundGallstones are a common disease of the digestive system, and its complications pose serious risks to human health and impose a significant economic burden on society. Inadequate dietary potassium intake may be associated with the development of gallstones, however, there is a lack of current epidemiological research on this topic.ObjectiveThe purpose of this research was a preliminarily exploration of the relationship between dietary potassium intake and the prevalence of gallstones, providing direction for the next step of quantitativeanalysis on the association between dietary potassium intake and the prevalence of gallstones.MethodsData from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2017 to 2020 were used for a cross-sectional analysis. The presence of gallstones was assessed based on the NHANES questionnaire data for the corresponding time frame. To investigate the link between dietary potassium consumption and the likelihood of developing gallstones, multiple logistic regression models were used. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on variables such as age, gender, poverty-to-income ratio (PIR), body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes, dietary supplement use, and physical activity. An analysis of linear associations was carried out using smoothing curves.ResultsThe study comprised 6,223 participants aged 20 years and older, excluding pregnant individuals. Among these participants, 671 were diagnosed with gallstones. In the final adjusted model, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.70 to 0.93, it was determined that dietary potassium intake and gallstone incidence were negatively correlated (OR = 0.81, p = 0.003). Individuals in the highest tertile of dietary potassium intake experienced a 31% lower risk of developing gallstones compare to those in the lowest tertile (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51-0.94, p = 0.017). In Model 1, the prevalence of gallstones exhibited an inverse relationship with dietary potassium intake. This negative association persisted even after stratifying by variables such as age, gender, PIR, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, dietary supplement use, and physical activity. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated the stability of this relationship.ConclusionOur research revealed that increased dietary potassium intake is associated with a lower prevalence of gallstones. Nevertheless, additional prospective studies are required to confirm a precise dietary potassium intake level and the long-term effects of potassium metabolism on gallstone formation.