Circadian as well as circannual rhythms of circulating aldosterone have decreased amplitude in aging women.

Abstract

Age differences in the characteristics of the circadian rhythm in circulating radioimmunoassayable aldosterone were studied on nine 20 to 26 year-old and ten 70 to 78 year-old women and ten 23 to 26 year old and ten 70 to 80 year old men in Würzburg, West Germany. These diurnally active-nocturnally resting subjects were sampled every 3 hours for 15 hours. A classical analysis of variance and a multivariate analysis of rhythm characteristics revealed major effects of age exerted on the circadian aldosterone amplitude in women (p = 0.003) but not in concomitantly sampled men. These observations complement the study of circadian and circannual rhythms in 8 young adults (15-21 years), 10 mature adults (29-36 years) and 10 post-menopausal (44-59 years) North American women, sampled at 100 minute intervals for 24 hours, once in each season, and document that the adrenocortical aldosterone-producing system remains rhythmic with at least two frequencies up to the late decades of human life, although in women it may be characterized by a reduction in the extent of spectral change after 70 years of age.