{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T05:03:32Z","timestamp":1777007012244,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776988800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To examine the associations of maternal vitamin D (VitD) concentrations in early- and mid-pregnancy with offspring growth trajectories from birth to 6\u202fyears of age, as well as childhood overweight.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study was a prospective observational cohort study including 1,100 mother\u2013child dyads from the Wuxi Birth Cohort. Offspring weight-, height-, and BMI-for-age Z-scores (WAZ, HAZ, and BAZ) were collected from birth to 6\u202fyears of age. Growth trajectories were identified using group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM). Restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses explored the nonlinear associations. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations of maternal VitD tertiles (T1-T3) with growth trajectory groups and overweight risk, with exploratory analyses stratified by child sex.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Lower early pregnancy VitD concentrations (T1 vs. T2) were associated with higher odds of increasing HAZ (aOR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.16, 2.92) and BAZ (aOR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.09, 2.43) trajectories. Lower mid-pregnancy VitD concentrations were associated with higher odds of increasing WAZ (aOR, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.41, 7.34) and HAZ (aOR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.03, 3.66) trajectories. Higher early pregnancy VitD concentrations (T3 vs. T2) were associated with higher odds of increasing BAZ, particularly among boys (aOR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.16, 3.82). Sex-stratified analyses suggested stronger associations for WAZ- and BAZ-related trajectories in boys and HAZ-related trajectories in girls. RCS analyses showed nonlinear associations, with the lowest odds of adverse trajectories observed at 27.6\u201372.6\u202fnmol\/L in early pregnancy and 28.8\u201376.2\u202fnmol\/L in mid-pregnancy. Overweight at age 6 was nearly ten times more common in children with increasing vs. stable BAZ trajectories.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maternal VitD levels in early- and mid-pregnancy showed nonlinear and sex-specific associations with offspring growth trajectories. Both low and high maternal VitD levels during these gestational periods were associated with higher odds of unstable growth trajectories.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2026.1781274","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T04:33:00Z","timestamp":1777005180000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Nonlinear and sex-specific associations of maternal vitamin D in early- and mid-pregnancy with childhood growth trajectories from birth to 6\u202fyears of age: a prospective cohort study in China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Heng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yimeng","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zeyu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chenghao","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daozhen","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Wuxi Higher Health Vocational Technology School","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsbmb.2017.11.005","article-title":"Mechanisms involved in bone resorption regulated by vitamin D","volume":"177","author":"Nakamichi","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms19051618","article-title":"Role of vitamin D beyond the skeletal function: a review of the molecular and clinical studies","author":"Meenakshi Umar","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int J Mol Sci"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsbmb.2013.11.003","article-title":"Is vitamin D deficiency a major global public health problem?","volume":"144","author":"Palacios","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"647","DOI":"10.1111\/mcn.12210","article-title":"Global summary of maternal and newborn vitamin D status - 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