Vitamin D status in infancy and cardiometabolic health in adolescence

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 2021-01, Vol.113 (1), p.104-112
• Main Authors: Garfein, Joshua, Flannagan, Kerry S, Gahagan, Sheila, Burrows, Raquel, Lozoff, Betsy, Villamor, Eduardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; Adolescence; Adolescents; Age; Anthropometry; Body composition; Body fat; Body mass index; Calciferol; Child development; Children; Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; infancy; insulin resistance; Lean body mass; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolism; Obesity; Supplements; Teenagers; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa273

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity-related conditions, but the role of early life vitamin D status on the development of obesity is poorly understood. We assessed whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] at age 1 y was related to metabolic health through adolescence. We quantified serum 25(OH)D in samples obtained at age 1 y from 306 participants in a cohort study in Santiago, Chile. Anthropometry was performed at ages 5, 10, and 16/17 y. At 16/17 y, we determined body composition using DXA and quantified metabolic parameters in a blood sample. We examined the associations of infancy 25(OH)D with BMI-for-age z-score (BMIZ) at ages 5, 10, and 16/17 y; with percentage fat and percentage lean body mass at age 16/17 y; and with a metabolic syndrome (MetS) score and its components at age 16/17 y. Infancy 25(OH)D was inversely associated with BMIZ in childhood. Every 25-nmol/L difference in 25(OH)D was related to an adjusted 0.11 units lower BMIZ at age 5 y (95% CI: −0.20, −0.03; P = 0.01) and a 0.09 unit lower BMIZ change from ages 1 to 5 y (95% CI: −0.17, −0.01; P = 0.02). Also, every 25-nmol/L 25(OH)D in infancy was associated with an adjusted 1.3 points lower percentage body fat mass (95% CI: −2.2, −0.4; P = 0.005) and an adjusted 0.03 units lower MetS score (95% CI: −0.05, −0.01; P = 0.01) at age 16/17 y, through inverse associations with waist circumference and the HOMA-IR. Serum 25(OH)D at age 1 y is inversely associated with childhood BMIZ, percentage body fat at age 16/17 y, and a MetS score at age 16/17 y. Intervention studies are warranted to examine the effects of vitamin D supplementation in early life on long-term cardiometabolic outcomes.