Long-term effects of neonatal sodium restriction on blood pressure

Johanna M. Geleijnse*, Albert Hofman, Jacqueline C.M. Witteman, Alice A.J.M. Hazebroek, Hans A. Valkenburg, Diederick E. Grobbee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

227 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In 1980, a randomized trial was conducted among 476 Dutch newborn infants to study the effect of a low or normal sodium diet on blood pressure during the first 6 months of life. At the end of the trial, systolic blood pressure in the low sodium group (n=231) was 2.1 mm Hg lower than in the control group (n=245). To investigate whether contrasting levels of sodium intake in infancy are associated with blood pressure differences in adolescence, we measured blood pressure in 167 children from the original cohort (35%) after 15 years of follow-up. We assessed the differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels between the diet groups using a multivariate regression model with adjustment for potential confounders. The adjusted systolic blood pressure at follow-up was 3.6 mm Hg lower (95% confidence interval, -6.6 to -0.5) and the diastolic pressure was 2.2 mm Hg lower (95% confidence interval, -4.5 to 0.2) in children who had been assigned to the low sodium group (n=71) compared with the control group (n=96). These findings suggest that sodium intake in infancy may be important in relation to blood pressure later in life.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)913-917
Number of pages5
JournalHypertension
Volume29
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 1997

Keywords

  • adolescence
  • blood pressure
  • follow-up studies
  • infant nutrition
  • sodium, dietary

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