The relationship of plasma renin , angiotensin , and aldosterone levels to blood pressure variability and target organ damage in children with essential hypertension

Background To investigate the relationships of plasma RAAS levels to BPV and TOD in children with essential hypertension.Methods A case-control study was conducted on 132 children diagnosed with essential hypertension, comprising 103 males and 29 females with the mean age of 11.8 ± 2.4 years. The plasma RAAS levels were measured by enhanced chemiluminescence method, and the ambulatory blood pressure was monitored for 24h, followed by calculation of the coefficients of variability (CV). Data on indicators for assessing fundus, cardiac, and renal damages. The correlations of plasma RAAS levels to BPV and TOD were studied. Comparison between groups was analyzed by SPSS 20．Results Among the 132 children, 88 cases had target organ damage. The daytime CV of systolic blood pressure of the high angiotensin II (AT II) group was significantly higher than that of the normal AT II group (t = 2.365, P = 0.019). Plasma AT II and aldosterone levels were significantly associated with left ventricular mass index (r = 0.316, P < 0.01; r = 0.176, P = 0.043), and plasma AT II was positively correlated with the LVMI (r = 0.316; P < 0.01).Conclusions The AT II level in children with essential hypertension affected the variability of daytime SBP. Plasma AT II and aldosterone levels were associated with cardiac damage, especially the AT II. Results from this study provide an objective basis for the protection against subclinical cardiac damage in childhood hypertension.