Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in healthy subjects aged ten to eighteen years

We abtained normative data for plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone concentration from a biracial sample of 195 healthy, normotensive children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. The sample Included 119 boys and 76 girls, of whom 103 were black and 92 were white. The mean PRA value (±SD) was 2.52±1.95ng/ml per hour, with minimal and maximal values of 0.1 and 13.50 ng/ml per hour. The mean plasma aldosterone concentration was 12.56±8.59 ng/ml, with minimal and maximal values of 1.6 and 50.1 ng/ml. We also examined the effects of subject characteristics and electrolyte intake. The slope relating sodium excretion to PRA was negative and highly significant (slope=−0.01; p