BOX S-2Summary of the Updated Potassium Dietary Reference Intakes

• As was the case in the 2005 DRI Report, there remains insufficient evidence to establish Estimated Average Requirements, Recommended Dietary Allowances, or Tolerable Upper Intake Levels for potassium.
• In the absence of a specific indicator of potassium adequacy or deficiency, Adequate Intakes (AIs) were derived using two nationally representative surveys. The highest median potassium intake across the two surveys was selected for each DRI group in children and adolescents, for adult females, and for adult males. For adults, the data that informed the potassium AIs were from normotensive males and females without a self-reported history of cardiovascular disease. For infants, the AIs were derived from estimates of potassium intakes in breastfed infants.
• Despite moderate strength of evidence that potassium supplementation reduces blood pressure, particularly among adults with hypertension, a potassium Chronic Disease Risk Reduction Intake cannot be established because of heterogeneity across studies, lack of an intake–response relationship, and low or insufficient strength of evidence for related chronic disease endpoints.