BACKGROUND: Infancy may be a sensitive period regarding effects of sodium intake on future blood pressure (BP). This has only been demonstrated in one randomized trial of low sodium formulae with follow-up in adolescence in one-third of participants. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively assess associations between sodium intake in infancy and BP at 7 years in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). SUBJECTS: A total of 533 children with sodium data at 4 months and 710 children with sodium at 8 months. RESULTS: 0.4% of participants at 4 months and 73.0% at 8 months exceeded recommended levels for infant sodium intake. After minimal adjustment (child age, sex, energy), sodium intake at 4 months was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 7 years (beta=0.54 mm Hg/mmol; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.98 mm Hg; P=0.02). This changed little following adjustment for confounders but attenuated after adjusting for breastfeeding. This association was not mediated by sodium intake at 7 years. Due to high sodium-potassium correlations, effects of sodium independent of potassium could not be estimated with reasonable precision. Sodium intake neither at 8 months nor at 7 years was associated with SBP at 7 years. CONCLUSION: The association between sodium intake at 4 months and future SBP requires replication in studies that can control for effects of potassium before we can conclude that early infancy is a sensitive period with respect to effects of sodium on future BP. The majority of infants exceeded recommended levels of sodium intake at 8 months, and interventions to reduce sodium in infants' diets should be considered.
BACKGROUND: Infancy may be a sensitive period regarding effects of sodium intake on future blood pressure (BP). This has only been demonstrated in one randomized trial of low sodium formulae with follow-up in adolescence in one-third of participants. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively assess associations between sodium intake in infancy and BP at 7 years in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). SUBJECTS: A total of 533 children with sodium data at 4 months and 710 children with sodium at 8 months. RESULTS: 0.4% of participants at 4 months and 73.0% at 8 months exceeded recommended levels for infant sodium intake. After minimal adjustment (child age, sex, energy), sodium intake at 4 months was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 7 years (beta=0.54 mm Hg/mmol; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.98 mm Hg; P=0.02). This changed little following adjustment for confounders but attenuated after adjusting for breastfeeding. This association was not mediated by sodium intake at 7 years. Due to high sodium-potassium correlations, effects of sodium independent of potassium could not be estimated with reasonable precision. Sodium intake neither at 8 months nor at 7 years was associated with SBP at 7 years. CONCLUSION: The association between sodium intake at 4 months and future SBP requires replication in studies that can control for effects of potassium before we can conclude that early infancy is a sensitive period with respect to effects of sodium on future BP. The majority of infants exceeded recommended levels of sodium intake at 8 months, and interventions to reduce sodium in infants' diets should be considered.
Authors: Maria Hermoso; Garden Tabacchi; Iris Iglesia-Altaba; Silvia Bel-Serrat; Luis A Moreno-Aznar; Yurena García-Santos; Ma del Rosario García-Luzardo; Beatriz Santana-Salguero; Luis Peña-Quintana; Lluis Serra-Majem; Victoria Hall Moran; Fiona Dykes; Tamás Decsi; Vassiliki Benetou; Maria Plada; Antonia Trichopoulou; Monique M Raats; Esmée L Doets; Cristiana Berti; Irene Cetin; Berthold Koletzko Journal: Matern Child Nutr Date: 2010-10 Impact factor: 3.092
Authors: Márcia Regina Vitolo; Maria Laura da Costa Louzada; Fernanda Rauber; Paula Dal Bó Campagnolo Journal: Eur J Pediatr Date: 2013-05-01 Impact factor: 3.183
Authors: G David Batty; George Davey Smith; Caroline H D Fall; Avan Aihie Sayer; Elaine Dennison; Cyrus Cooper; Catharine R Gale Journal: Int J Epidemiol Date: 2007-12 Impact factor: 7.196