Maternal pregnancy vomiting and offspring salt taste sensitivity and blood pressure

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between salt taste perception and blood pressure (BP) in normotensive adolescents as modified by maternal fluid losses during the first trimester of gestation. Seventy-two healthy adolescents (42 boys) aged between 9.0-21.1 years, recruited from the population-based RICARDIN study, were included. A maternal questionnaire about the duration of pregnancy, birth weight and vomiting or diarrhoea in the first trimester of gestation was collected. The sample was categorized into: "vomiter descendents", those whose mother reported significant vomiting in the first trimester of gestation and "non-vomiter descendents" the remaining. Height, weight, and standardised BP measurement were recorded. Salt gustatory performance was assessed using a behavioral sensitivity test to determine the lower NaCl gustatory threshold, and a behavioral discrimination test, measuring the ability to distinguish among different saline solutions. Salt taste sensitivity showed a significant correlation with systolic BP (SBP) in "vomiter descendents" ( r = -0.66; P =0.003), but not in "non-vomiter descendents". Adjusted by gender, and actual height and weight, salt sensitivity performance remained significantly related to SBP. An association between descendents' SBP and maternal vomiting during gestation exists, adding a new element of evidence to the "Barker hypothesis".

High sodium intake during postnatal phases induces an increase in arterial blood pressure in adult rats

“…However, it is worth noting that high-Na diets were fed to adult animals in these studies ( 23 , 50 ) , which differs from the protocol used in the present study. Another study has demonstrated that mothers who have suffered episodes of vomiting and dehydration during the first 3 months of pregnancy give birth to children who have increased systolic pressure during adolescence ( 51 ) . Vidonho et al ( 24 ) found offspring born to mothers fed a high-Na diet (4 or 8 % NaCl) during pregnancy and lactation to have higher arterial pressure in adulthood.…”

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

“…The relationship to NLS remains to be clarified, since we show here that sodium consumption at 8 to 15 yr is better explained by NLS than birth weight. The contribution of maternal vomiting needs to be considered too, since it relates to both reduced birth weight (54), to increased sodium appetite in the offspring (9,10,27), and to NaCl gustatory thresholds and blood pressure in adolescents (32).…”

“…It has long been recognized that sodium depletion enlists the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, primarily central but also peripheral, to increase sodium intake, and the same system may also program the long-term increase in sodium appetite (12,22,31,40,41,50), even if activated in utero (4,16,27,48). It has been proposed that such perinatal alterations may be adaptive, specifically in increasing sodium appetite (12,14,23,29) or, more generally, to meet cardiovascular and hydrational challenges, occasionally referred to as "programming" or "imprinting" (3,5,6,32,38).…”

Revisão: metodologias para análise da sensibilidade gustativa ao sal

“…A lavagem da boca com água entre as soluções com diferentes concentrações de NaCl foi realizada em 77,3% (n = 17) dos artigos e, em cinco, não consta a informação (ELLEGARD et al, 2007a;SIENKIEWICZ-JAROSZ et al, 2005;MALAGA et al, 2003MALAGA et al, , 2005UKOH et al, 2004). Pode haver a diluição do NaCl na saliva após degustação do estímulo, com comprometimento da próxima avaliação, e lavar a boca com água minimizaria esse efeito (STONE;SIDEL, 2004;MEILGAARD et al, 1999).…”