Urinary chloride: gender-related differences and relation to blood pressure in adolescents

Abstract

Airn, materials and methods: To find gender-related differences in blood pressure (BP) and urinary chloride excretion as well as a relation between them, we monitored diurnal, overnight, and 24-h urinary chloride as well as BP hourly in 22 adolescent males and 22 adolescent females. To show a possible influence of sexual honnones on chloride excretion and BP. we also tnonitored 15 adolescent females during different phases of their menstrual cycle. Results: The overnight systolic and pulse BP was significantly higher in males than in females. The diurnal pulse BP was significantly higher in tnales than in females at the beginning of follicular phase. The diurnal systolic, diastolic, and mean BP was significantly higher than nocturnal in all tbe groups studied. The overnight urinary chloride level in fctnales at the beginning of the follicular phase was significantly lower than during ovulation. Urinary chloride level during kiteal phase was comparable with that during ovulation. The total 24-h urinary chloride in the general group of males was signi ficantly h igher than in females at the beginning of follicular phase. In the general -group of fetnales, diurnal urinary chloride exeretion negatively correlated with diastolic and mean BP, but such a correlation was absent in males. Overnight, on the contrary, the correlation between urinary chloride excretion and [JP was absent in fetnales, but it was positive in tnales. The diurnal and overnight urinary chloride excretion exhibited a negative correlation with BP in females during luteal phase. A correlation between overnight chloride excretion and tncan BP was positive in tnales, but negative in females during luteal phase. Conclusion: BP, urinary chloride exeretion, and relation between them in adolescents are gender-and circadian cyclerelated. Sexual honnones tnay play a role botb in regulation of BP and urinary ehloride excretion.