Figure 6.

Box plots of 8-hour urine aldosterone excretion (8h aldo) (left) and ratio of active (tetrahydrocortisol [THF]) to inactive (tetrahydrocortisone [THE]) urine cortisol metabolites (right) in CKD stage 4 at baseline and 1 year. The THF/THE ratio indirectly assesses 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme activity that converts glucocorticoids to inactive metabolites. Higher ratios indicate lower activity. The bottom and top of the boxes span the 25th and 75th percentile of data points. The dark bar within the box indicates the 50th percentile or median. The whiskers indicate 1.5 times the interquartile range from the lower and upper quartiles. F+V, fruits and vegetables; F/U, follow-up. *P<0.05 versus respective baseline; ⁺P<0.05 versus HCO₃.