Too much caffeine during pregnancy may damage baby's liver

孕期摄入过多咖啡因可能会使婴儿肝脏受损

上海译锐翻译   2019-7-29     11:00 a.m.

Having too much caffeine during pregnancy may impair baby's liver development and increase the risk of liver disease in adulthood, according to a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology. Pregnant rats given caffeine had offspring with lower birth weights, altered growth and stress hormone levels and impaired liver development. The study findings indicate that consumption of caffeine equivalent to 2-3 cups of coffee may alter stress and growth hormone levels in a manner that can impair growth and development, and increase the risk of liver disease in adulthood.

根据发表在《哈佛大学心脏通讯》中的一篇研究论文，孕期摄入过多咖啡因可能会对婴儿的肝脏发育造成破坏并增加婴儿在成年时期患肝病的风险。在怀孕期间被喂食咖啡因的大鼠所产下的后代体重更低、生长和压力荷尔蒙水平有所改变且肝脏的发育亦会受损。研究结果表明，每天喝2到3杯咖啡所摄入的咖啡因可能会造成压力和生长荷尔蒙水平的改变并会对生长和发育造成损害，并增加在成年时期患肝病的风险。

Previous studies have indicated that prenatal caffeine intake of 300 mg/day or more in women, which is approximately 2 to 3 cups coffee per day, can result in lower birth weights of their children. Animal studies have further suggested that prenatal caffeine consumption may have more detrimental long-term effects on liver development with an increased susceptibility to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a debilitating condition normally associated with obesity and diabetes. However, the underlying link between prenatal caffeine exposure and impaired liver development remains poorly understood. A better understanding of how caffeine mediates these effects could help prevent these health issues in people in the future.

此前的研究表明，产前每天摄入300mg或更多的咖啡因（相当于每天喝2-3杯咖啡）可能会导致婴儿出生体重偏低。动物研究进一步表明，产前咖啡因的摄入可能会对肝脏发育产生更多长期不利影响，具体包括更容易患上非酒精性脂肪肝、通常由于肥胖和糖尿病所导致的身体虚弱。尽管如此，人们对产前咖啡因的摄入和肝脏发育受损之间内在的联系仍然知之甚少。更深入地理解咖啡因会如何产生这些影响可以帮助人们在未来避免这类健康问题。

Susceptibility：易感性

fatty liver：脂肪肝

In this study, Prof Hui Wang and colleagues at Wuhan University in China, investigated the effects of low (equivalent to 2-3 cups of coffee) and high doses (equivalent of 6-9 cups of coffee) caffeine, given to pregnant rats, on liver function and hormone levels of their offspring. Offspring exposed to prenatal caffeine had lower levels of the liver hormone, insulin like growth factor (IGF-1), and higher levels of the stress hormone, corticosteroid at birth. However, liver development after birth showed a compensatory 'catch up' phase, characterised by increased levels of IGF-1, which is important for growth.

在该项研究中，中国武汉大学的Hui Wang教授和他的同事们研究了向怀孕大鼠喂食低剂量（等于2-3杯咖啡）和高剂量（6-9杯咖啡）咖啡因后，咖啡因对其后代的肝功能和荷尔蒙水平所造成的影响。在产前接触过咖啡因的大鼠后代出生后的肝脏荷尔蒙水平和胰岛素样生长因子更低，而压力荷尔蒙--(肾上腺)皮质激素的水平更高。然而，出生后的肝脏发育表现出补偿性的‘追赶’阶段并伴随有IGF-1水平升高（其对生长具有重要意义）。

insulin like growth factor：胰岛素样生长因子

Dr Yinxian Wen, study co-author, says, "Our results indicate that prenatal caffeine causes an excess of stress hormone activity in the mother, which inhibits IGF-1 activity for liver development before birth. However, compensatory mechanisms do occur after birth to accelerate growth and restore normal liver function, as IGF-1 activity increases and stress hormone signalling decreases. The increased risk of fatty liver disease caused by prenatal caffeine exposure is most likely a consequence of this enhanced, compensatory postnatal IGF-1 activity."

研究论文的合著者Yinxian博士表示：“我们的结果表明，产前摄入咖啡因会导致母亲体内压力荷尔蒙活性过高，并会在婴儿出生前对肝脏发育起作用的IGF-1活性造成抑制。但是，补偿性机制确实会在出生后出现，以加速肝脏的生长并恢复正常的肝功能，因此IGF-1活性增加，同时压力荷尔蒙信号减少。由于产前摄入咖啡因而导致脂肪肝风险增加更可能是产后补偿性的IGF-1活性增强的结果。”

These findings not only confirm that prenatal caffeine exposure leads to lower birth weight and impaired liver development before birth but also expand our current understanding of the hormonal changes underlying these changes and suggest the potential mechanism for increased risk of liver disease in the future. However, these animal findings need to be confirmed in humans.

这些结果不仅证实，产前摄入咖啡因会导致婴儿出生体重偏低，同时还会破坏胎儿的肝脏发育，同时这些结果还让我们更加了解这些变化背后的荷尔蒙变化并让我们了解到未来增加肝病风险的潜在机制。尽管如此，动物实验的研究结果仍有待在人类中证实。

Dr Wen comments, "Our work suggests that prenatal caffeine is not good for babies and although these findings still need to be confirmed in people, I would recommend that women avoid caffeine during pregnancy."

Wen博士评论称：“我们的研究表明，产前摄入咖啡因对胎儿不利。尽管这些研究结果仍然需要在人类中证实，我还是建议孕期妈咪避免摄入咖啡因。”

文章来源：科学日报    编辑：Susan