Summary
The relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) at rest and physical fitness was studied in 40 normal young subjects on a liberal sodium intake.
Plasma renin activity was measured in arterial blood withdrawn at the end of a 30-min period of rest in recumbency, while physical fitness was expressed by the highest oxygen uptake achieved during an uninterrupted graded exercise test performed in the sitting position on an electromagnetically braked ergometer bicycle (peak \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }\)).
Log PRA correlated significantly and inversely with peak \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }\)adjusted for body weight (r=−0.34; P<0.05) in single regression analysis. Using multiple regression analysis with log PRA as dependent variable and adjusted peak \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }\), age, urinary sodium excretion and mean intra-arterial pressure as independent variables, no combination of two or more independent variables yielded significant partial correlation coefficients with log PRA.
This correlation suggests that PRA at rest is inversely related to the subject's physical fitness.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Astrand PO, Rodahl K (1977) Body dimensions and muscular work. In: Astrand PO, Rodahl K (eds) Textbook of work physiology: physiological bases of exercise. McGraw-Hill Book Co, New York, pp 369–388
Aurell M, Vikgren P (1971) Plasma renin activity in supine muscular exercise. J Appl Physiol 31: 839–841
Bloom SR, Johnson RH, Park DM, Rennie MJ, Sulaiman WR (1978) Difference in the metabolic and hormonal response to exercise between racing cyclists and untrained individuals. J Physiol 258: 1–8
Brown JJ, Davies DL, Lever AF, Roberton JIS (1964) Influence of sodium deprivation and loading on plasma renin in man. J Physiol [Lond] 173: 408–419
Brown JJ, Davies DL, Lever AF, Robertson JIS (1964) Variation in plasma renin during the menstrual cycle. Br Med J 2: 1114–1115
Brown JJ, Davies DL, Lever AF, McPherson D, Robertson JIS (1966) Plasma renin concentration in relation to changes in posture. Clin Sci 30: 279–284
Convertino VA, Brock PJ, Keul LC, Bernauer EM, Greanleaf J (1980) Exercise training induced hypervolemia: role of plasma albumin, renin and vasopressin. J Appl Physiol 48: 665–669
Cooksey JD, Eilly P, Brown S, Bomze H, Cryer PE (1978) Exercise training and plasma catecholamines in patients with ischemic heart disease. Am J Cardiol 42: 372–376
Cousineau D, Ferguson RJ, De Champlain J, Gauthier P, Cote P, Bourassa M (1977) Catecholamines in coronary sinus during exercise in men before and after training. J Appl Physiol 42: 801–806
Davies B, Massay BH, Lohman TG, Williams BT (1977) Urinary excretion of free noradrenaline in trained and untrained men. Br J Sports Med 11: 94–98
Franco JGJ, Martinez AR (1978) Plasma renin activity in the intravaillous space of human placenta, in umbilical vessels and in maternal peripheral venous blood. Rev Bras Pesqui Med Biol 11: 141–144
Fyhrquist F, Puutula L (1978) Faster radioimmunoassay of angiotensin I at 37‡ C. Clin Chem 24: 115–118
Geyssant A, Geelen G, Denis C, Allevard AM, Vincent M, Jarsaillon E, Bizollon CA, Lacour JR, Gharib C (1981) Plasma vasopressin, renin activity and aldosterone: effect of exercise and training. Eur J Appl Physiol 46: 21–30
Gordon RD, Wolfe LK, Island DP, Liddle GW (1966) A diurnal rhythm in plasma renin activity in man. J Clin Invest 45: 1587–1592
Hartley HL, Mason JW, Hogan PR, Jones LG, Kotchen AT, Moughey HE, Wherry EF, Pennington LL, Ricketts PT (1972) Multiple hormonal responses to prolonged exercise in relation to physical training. J Appl Physiol 33: 607–610
Hayduck K, Krause DK, Kaufman W, Huenges H, Schillmöller W, Unbehaun V (1973) Age-dependent changes of plasma renin concentration in humans. Clin Sci Mol Med 45: 273s-278s
Kotchen TA, Hartley LH, Rice TW, Moughey EH, Jones LG, Mason JW (1971) Renin, norepinephrine and epinephrine responses to graded exercise. J Appl Physiol 31: 178–184
McCrinnon DR, Cunningham DA, Rechitzer PA, Griffiths J (1976) Effect of training on plasma catecholamines in postmyocardial infarction patients. Med Sci Sports 8: 152–156
Melin B, Eclache JP, Geelen G, Annal G, Allevard AM, Jarsaillon E, Zebedi A, Legros JJ, Gharib C (1980) Plasma AVP, neurophysin, renin activity and aldosterone during submaximal exercise performed until exhaustion in trained and untrained men. Eur J Appl Physiol 44: 141–151
Nie NH, Hull CH, Jenkins J, Steinbrenner K, Bent DH (1975) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, 2nd edition. McGraw Hill Book Co, New York
Oscai LB, Williams BT, Hertig BA (1968) Effect of exercise on blood volume. J Appl Physiol 24: 622–624
Scheuer J, Tipton MC (1977) Cardiovascular adaptation to physical training. Ann Rev Physiol 39: 221–251
Skipka W, Böning D, Deck KA, Külpman WR, Meurer KA (1979) Reduced aldosterone and sodium exretion in endurance-trained athletes before and during immersion. Eur J Appl Physiol 42: 255–262
Sundsfjord JA, Aakvaag A (1973) Variations in plasma aldosterone and plasma renin activity throughout the menstrual cycle with special reference to the pre-ovulatory period. Acta Endocrinol 73: 499–508
Weidman P, De Myttenaere-Burztein S, Maxwell MH, De Lima J (1975) Effect of aging on plasma renin and aldosterone in normal man. Kidney Int 8: 325–333
Winder WW, Hagberg JM, Hickson RC, Ehsani AA, McLane JA (1978) Time course of sympatho-adrenal adaptation to endurance exercise training in man. J Appl Physiol 45: 370–374
Winder WW, Hickson RC, Hagberg JM, Ehsani AA, McLane JA (1979) Training-induced changes in hormonal and metabolic responses to submaximal exercise. J Appl Physiol 46: 766–771
Young LD, Langford HG, Blanchard EG (1976) Effect of operant conditioning of heart rate on plasma renin activity. Psychosom Med 38: 278–281
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
M'Buyamba-Kabangu, J.R., Fagard, R., Lijnen, P. et al. Relationship between plasma renin activity and physical fitness in normal subjects. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 53, 304–307 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00422843
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00422843