Adult Offspring Long-Term Effects of High Salt and Water Intake during Pregnancy

Lowest neonatal serum sodium predicts sodium intake in low birth weight children

“…Maternal vomiting during gestation, infantile diuresis, diarrhea, vomiting, and inadequate infant formula electrolytes, have all been linked to long-term increased sodium appetite in humans (9,10,23,27,30,44) and are consistent with findings in animals (4,16,26,29,48).…”

“…Yet attempts in rats to relate early sodium intake to long-term salt preference have yielded inconsistent results (11,29,37). Similarly, in humans, studies on the determinants of individual variability in salt preference and intake that have concentrated on exposure, acculturation, and learning, particularly in infancy and childhood, have not revealed the determinants of individual variability in salt preference (7, 18, 34) although they have shown how a particular salty food becomes preferred (47).On the other hand, in rats, long-term increases in salt intake have been found consequent on varied instances of perinatal mineralofluid loss: offspring of dams that during pregnancy were dehydrated, lost sodium, or had their hormones of sodium conservation activated, or rats that were acutely sodium deprived postnatally, all show increased sodium intake in adulthood (4,16,26,29,48). Similarly, in humans, maternal vomiting during pregnancy increases offspring salt preference, as do childhood vomiting, diarrhea, salt wasting, and electrolyte deficient feeding (9,10,23,27,42).…”

“…On the other hand, in rats, long-term increases in salt intake have been found consequent on varied instances of perinatal mineralofluid loss: offspring of dams that during pregnancy were dehydrated, lost sodium, or had their hormones of sodium conservation activated, or rats that were acutely sodium deprived postnatally, all show increased sodium intake in adulthood (4,16,26,29,48). Similarly, in humans, maternal vomiting during pregnancy increases offspring salt preference, as do childhood vomiting, diarrhea, salt wasting, and electrolyte deficient feeding (9,10,23,27,42).…”

Availability of a rich source of sodium during the perinatal period programs the fluid balance restoration pattern in adult offspring

“…Further studies are necessary to discriminate the precise stage responsible for the changes observed later in life. Previous studies [10][11][12][13]16,21,22,39] have shown that early challenges to osmoregulatory mechanisms involving electrolyte and/or endocrine environmental changes, lead to persistent changes in need-free and stimulated fluid intake and, while most of the work has shown perinatal osmotic alterations, they have contradictory results with regard to how they affect adult offspring fluid intake, and specifically, whether the perinatal manipulation increases or decreases water or sodium ingestion of the adult offspring. Whatever the final PM effect, sometimes the physiological result in terms of body sodium status may be similar.…”

“…angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, induce an imprinting on osmoregulatory mechanisms, altering their endocrine and behavioral regulatory responses [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Perinatal experiences of the stimuli of sodium overload (water deprivation, dietary sodium overload) or sodium depletion (diuretics administration, repeated vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy, etc.)…”