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[Plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone concentration: influence of crying]
1Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Insights
Crying in infants and toddlers significantly elevates plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC). PRA increases notably with crying duration, while PAC shows a milder rise, impacting sample interpretation.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Pediatric Physiology
Context:
- Crying is a common infant behavior.
- Previous studies suggest crying influences renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) hormones.
- Precise data on crying's impact on plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) in infants is limited.
Purpose:
- To quantify changes in PRA and PAC in infants and toddlers following crying.
- To assess the relationship between crying duration and hormonal levels.
Summary:
- This study measured PRA and PAC in 30 infants (1-30 months) at 1, 3, and 5 minutes after crying induced by venipuncture.
- Both PRA and PAC levels increased with crying duration.
- PRA showed a marked increase, while PAC exhibited a milder elevation over time.
Impact:
- Findings highlight the significant effect of crying duration on PRA and PAC levels in young children.
- Results emphasize the need to consider crying as a factor when interpreting PRA and PAC measurements in pediatric blood samples.
- This research provides crucial data for understanding physiological stress responses in infants and toddlers.
Abstract:
The levels of plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) have been known to increase by the influence of crying in infants and toddlers, but no precise informations are available. We evaluated the changes of PRA and PAC after crying by comparing values obtained from 30 infants and toddlers within one minute after the onset of crying, as induced by venopuncture, and three and five minutes after continuation of crying (PRA1, PRA3, PRA5, and PAC1, PAC3, PAC5). The age of these subjects ranged from one to thirty months (median sixteen months). PRA1, PRA3 and PRA5 were 4.0 +/- 1.8 ng/ml per hour, 5.5 +/- 2.7 ng/ml per hour, 7.8 +/- 4.2 ng/ml per hour, respectively. PAC1, PAC3 and PAC5 were 210 +/- 110 pg/ml, 231 +/- 118 pg/ml, 269 +/- 145 pg/ml, respectively. Both PRA and PAC increased with elapsing time. The increase in PRA was marked after a short episode of crying, but that in PAC was of a mild degree. When to evaluate the levels of PRA and PAC in infants and children, especially that of PRA, one should take into consideration of the conditions of the subject such as the duration of crying at blood sampling.