The effect of age on creatinine clearance in men: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Standard true 24-hour creatinine clearance determinations were performed on 884 subjects of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study. On the basis of clinical data, subjects were placed in categories indicating the presence of specific diseases or medications which might alter glomerular filtration rate. Subjects not included in these categories were considered normal (N=548). In the normals, cross-sectional analysis by 10-year age groups showed a progressive linear decline in clearance from 140 ml/min/1.73m2 at age 30 to 97 at age 80. Three or more serial clearances were obtained at 12- to 18-mo. intervals on 293 normal subjects. These longitudinal data showed an acceleration of the rate of decline in creatinine clearance with advancing age. The decrease in creatinine clearance with age seen in this study represents true renal aging and is not secondary to diseases which become increasingly prevalent in the elderly. A nomogram constructed from these data provides normative age-corrected standards for creatinine clearance.