Occurrence and influencing factors of hypokalemia in patients with mental disorders

Abstract

Objective To investigate the occurrence and influencing factors of hypokalemia in patients with mental disorders. Methods A total of 751 hospitalized patients with mental disorders from February 2016 to August 2016 admitted to hospital with urgent checking of serum potassium level were retrospective analyzed and divided into hypokalemia group and non-hypokalemia group. Comparison of general data was carried out between the two groups. Results In the 751 cases of hospitalized patients, the serum potassium level of hypokalemia patients was 2.05~3.49 mmol/L, with an average of (3.26±0.25) mmol/L; there were 149 cases of hypokalemia accounting for 19.8% of the total number of hospitalized patients. Single factor analysis showed that gender, age, diet status, hospital season and whether to cooperate had statistically significant differences in the serum potassium levels of hypokalemia patients (P<0.05) . Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, age, diet status, hospital season and whether to cooperate was the independent factors of hypokalemia. Conclusions Patients with mental disorders may have some symptoms of hypokalemia. The hospital should take effectively preventive measures according to the risk factors, cure blood potassium concentration in time, guide the patients how to adjust the diet, and pay attention to the safety of medication which are conducive to the effective control of hypokalemia-leaded adverse reactions in patients with mental disorders. Key words: Mental disorder; Hypokalemia; Influencing factor