{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T14:10:57Z","timestamp":1790431857197,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,5]],"date-time":"2021-02-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612483200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy or infancy is associated with adverse growth in children. No systematic review has been conducted to summarize available evidence on the effect of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy and infancy on growth and body composition in children. Objective: We aim to summarize the available evidence on the effect of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy and infancy on child growth and body composition. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed on the effects of vitamin D supplementation during early life on children\u2019s growth and body composition (bone, lean and fat). A literature search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to identify relevant studies on the effects of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and infancy on children\u2019s body composition (bone, lean and fat) in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library from inception to 31 December 2020. A Cochrane Risk Assessment Tool was used for quality assessment. The comparison was vitamin D supplementation vs. placebo or standard care. Random-effects and fixed-effect meta-analyses were conducted. The effects are presented as mean differences (MDs) or risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 3960 participants from eleven randomized controlled trials were eligible for inclusion. Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy was associated with higher triceps skinfold thickness (mm) (MD 0.33, 95% CI, 0.12, 0.54; I2 = 34%) in neonates. Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy or infancy was associated with significantly increased length for age z-score in infants at 1 year of age (MD 0.29, 95% CI, 0.03, 0.54; I2 = 0%), and was associated with lower body mass index (BMI) (kg\/m2) (MD \u22120.19, 95% CI \u22120.34, \u22120.04; I2 = 0%) and body mass index z-score (BMIZ) (MD \u22120.12, 95% CI \u22120.21, \u22120.04; I2 = 0%) in offspring at 3\u20136 years of age. Vitamin D supplementation during early life was not observed to be associated with children\u2019s bone, lean or fat mass. Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy or infancy may be associated with reduced adiposity in childhood. Further large clinical trials of the effects of vitamin D supplementation on childhood body composition are warranted.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13020524","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,7]],"date-time":"2021-02-07T14:04:13Z","timestamp":1612706653000},"page":"524","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation in Early Life on Children\u2019s Growth and Body Composition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Kristine","family":"Ma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5334-7652","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shu Qin","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada"},{"name":"Institut National de Sant\u00e9 Publique du Qu\u00e9bec, Montreal, QC H2P 1E2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei Guang","family":"Bi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hope A.","family":"Weiler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Montreal, QC H9X 3L9, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shi Wu","family":"Wen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OMNI Research Group, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Newborn Care, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada"},{"name":"School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1G 5Z3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-3016.2012.01283.x","article-title":"Vitamin D during pregnancy and maternal, neonatal and infant health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"26","author":"Fawzi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Paediatr. 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