Impact of Perinatal Exposure to Non-caloric Sweeteners on Food Preferences and Weight Gain in the First Year of Life

May 31, 2019 updated by: Martin Gotteland, University of Chile

Determination of Perinatal Exposure to Non-caloric Sweeteners. Implications for the Development of Preferences for Sweet Taste, and Weight Gain During the First Year of Life

During last years, non-caloric sweeteners (NCSs) have been increasingly incorporated into foodstuffs in replacement of sucrose in Chile. This situation has reached a point where it is currently difficult to find sugary foods without NCSs. As a result, the voluntary and involuntary consumption of these additives is growing significantly in the population, increasing the risk of exceeding the acceptable daily intake (ADI), especially for children. This situation is worrying as recent evidence suggests that NCSs are not inert in the body and can trigger adverse metabolic effects. For example, the consumption of beverages with NCSs has been shown to favor the development of obesity and type-2 diabetes in children and adults, and a recent study reported that the intake of NCSs during pregnancy was associated with a greater weight gain of the child at one year. It is likely that certain NCSs pass into the amniotic fluid and that the fetus is exposed to some of these compounds during pregnancy. This situation would persist in the infant through breast milk, as some studies detected sucralose and acesulfame-K in this fluid, even in mothers who claimed not to consume them. However, the real impact of NCS exposure during the neonatal period on the child health has been few studied. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the concentration of NCSs in samples of amniotic liquid and breastmilk and to correlate these data with the NCS intake by the mothers. Mothers/children will be classified in quintiles according to the results obtained. In the children from quintiles 1 and 5, we will also study whether neonatal exposure to NCSs may affect the sweet taste threshold and the preferences for this taste, the levels of salivary insulin and the weight gain in the first year. Breastmilk microbiota and child fecal microbiota will be also evaluated.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Unknown

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
315

Contacts and Locations

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Study Contact

Study Contact

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Study Contact Backup

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

315 dyades mother/child recruited at the San Jose Hospital Maternity

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women with at least 36 weeks of gestation
  • Spanish-speaking
  • Elective cesarean delivery

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Multiple pregnancy
  • Type-2 diabetes
  • Intelectual disability
  • Presence of infectious disease compatible with chorio-amnionitis or immunosupression
  • Newborns with serious pathologies affecting their growth

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mothers with breastmilk NCSs
Time Frame: One month post-partum
Proportion of mothers with detectable NCSs in their breastmilk
One month post-partum

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mothers with amniotic liquid NCSs
Time Frame: At delivery
Proportion of mothers with detectable NCSs in their amniotic liquid
At delivery
Consumption of NCSs by the mothers
Time Frame: At recruitment (in the last month of pregnancy) and at 1 mont post-partum
Daily intake (mg/d) of sucralose, acesulfame-K, cyclamate, saccharin and stevia evaluated through a validated consumer trend survey
At recruitment (in the last month of pregnancy) and at 1 mont post-partum
Pregnancy complications
Time Frame: At delivery
Percentages of mothers with preclampsia, hypertension, gestacional diabetes, infections, or preterm labor
At delivery
Breastmilk concentrations of NCSs
Time Frame: One month post-partum
Concentrations of sucralose, acesulfame-K, cyclamate, saccharin, steviol in breastmilk samples
One month post-partum
Amniotic liquid concentrations of NCSs
Time Frame: At delivery
Concentrations of sucralose, acesulfame-K, cyclamate, saccharin, steviol in amniotic liquid samples
At delivery
Sweet taste of breastmilk
Time Frame: One month post-partum
Intensity (arbitrary units) of sweet taste in breast milk samples, as detected by e-tongue
One month post-partum
Sweet taste of amniotic liquid
Time Frame: At delivery
Intensity (arbitrary units) of sweet taste in amniotic liquid samples, as detected by e-tongue
At delivery
Threshold of sweet taste in children
Time Frame: 6 months
Determination of sweet taste threshold (lower concentration of sucrose detected) in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that received
6 months
Food preferences in children
Time Frame: At 6 month of age
Food consumption in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that receiveded,through a validated consumer trend survey
At 6 month of age
Salivary insulin in children
Time Frame: 6 months
Salivary concentration of insulin (pg/ml) in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that they received
6 months
Infant gain weight
Time Frame: At 12 months
Changes in weight (kg) during the first year of life
At 12 months
Breast milk microbiota diversity
Time Frame: At one month post-partum
Intraindividual diversity of the breastmilk microbiota evaluated by Shannon index in samples from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to their NCS concentrations
At one month post-partum
Breast milk microbiota composition
Time Frame: At one month post-partum
Relative abundancies of the different bacterial taxa from the breastmilk microbiota, detected by high throughput sequencing, in samples from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to their NCS concentrations
At one month post-partum
Fecal microbiota diversity in children
Time Frame: At six months post-partum
Intraindividual diversity of the fecal microbiota, evaluated by Shannon index, in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that they received
At six months post-partum
Fecal microbiota composition in children
Time Frame: At six months post-partum
Relative abundancies of the different bacterial taxa from the fecal microbiota, detected by high throughput sequencing, in children from quintiles 1 and 5 of classification according to the concentrations of NCS in breast milk that they received
At six months post-partum
Polymorphism of sweet taste receptor in children
Time Frame: At six months post-partum
Proportions of children presenting the different polymorphisms on the sweet taste receptor gene.
At six months post-partum

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Chile

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Concepcion, Chile
Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Veronica Sambra, MaSc, University of Chile
  • Principal Investigator: Sandra Lopez, PhD, University of Chile
  • Principal Investigator: Paola Caceres, MaSc, University of Chile
  • Principal Investigator: Francisco Perez, PhD, University of Chile
  • Principal Investigator: Edgar Pastene, PhD, University of Concepción

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Anticipated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2020

Study Completion (Anticipated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 30, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 31, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 3, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 3, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 31, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • UChile-Fonis SA18I0062

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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