Abstract-We have postulated that the diminished renal capacity to excrete sodium causes nocturnal blood pressure (BP) elevation, which enhances pressure natriuresis in compensation for impaired daytime natriuresis. If such a mechanism holds, high BP during sleep at night may continue until excess sodium is sufficiently excreted into urine. This study examined whether the duration, defined as "dipping time," until nocturnal mean arterial pressure began to fall to Ͻ90% of daytime average became longer as renal function deteriorated. Ambulatory BP measurements and urinary sodium excretion rates were evaluated for daytime and nighttime to estimate their circadian rhythms in 65 subjects with chronic kidney disease. Key Words: chronic kidney disease Ⅲ natriuresis Ⅲ blood pressure Ⅲ circadian rhythm Ⅲ nondipper Ⅲ cardiovascular events I n healthy subjects, blood pressure (BP) normally dips during the night by 10% to 20% from daytime. In some patients with hypertension or chronic kidney disease (CKD), however, BP fails to dip during the night, and these patients have been called "nondippers," whereas those with a normal nocturnal BP dip are called "dippers." We reported previously in patients with essential hypertension that, as BP became sodium sensitive, nocturnal dip in BP was diminished. 1-3 Because glomerular filtration capability is one of the major factors determining sodium sensitivity, 4,5 as a function of loss of glomerular filtration rate, the nocturnal dip in BP may be less pronounced. We recently illustrated this quantitative relationship in CKD 6 and healthy donors after unilateral nephrectomy, 7 where in fact there was an inverse relationship between glomerular filtration rate and the night: day ratio of BP. Therefore, we have postulated that reduced renal capacity to excrete sodium into urine causes nocturnal elevation of BP, ie, nondippers, to compensate for diminished daytime natriuresis by enhancing pressure natriuresis during sleep. 1,3,6,8,9 If pressure natriuresis during sleep compensates for reduced daytime renal sodium excretion, high BP during sleep at night may continue until excess sodium is sufficiently excreted into urine. In this study, to ascertain the renal mechanisms of nondippers, we examined whether a longer duration is in fact required until a nocturnal BP begins to fall as renal function deteriorates.
Patients and Methods
Study PopulationThe subjects were 65 patients (33 men and 32 women; aged 16 to 80 years old; mean age: 47Ϯ18 years; body mass index [BMI]: 22.2Ϯ4.1 kg/m 2 ; body weight: 58.2Ϯ14.2 kg) who were hospitalized with CKD at Nagoya City University Hospital. CKD was defined as the presence of kidney damage or a decreased glomerular filtration rate of Ͻ60 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 for Ն3 months, according to Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative CKD criteria. 10 Patients with diabetic nephropathy or nephrotic syndrome and those receiving antihypertensive agents or diuretics were excluded from the study. All of the participants were enrolled consecutively after informed cons...