Biochemical measurements
BLOOD
Blood samples for clinical chemistry analysis were collected after an overnight fast of at least 10 h. All tests were performed in a College of American Pathologists-accredited laboratory (No. 7217913). Serum aldosterone and plasma renin activities were measured with a radioimmunoassay kit (Beckman Coulter Corp.) following the manufacturer’s instructions. Serum cortisol and serum ACTH were measured 