title: Vitamin D and Reproduction: From Gametes to Childhood.
abstract: Vitamin D is well recognized for its essentiality in maintaining skeletal health. Recent research has suggested that vitamin D may exert a broad range of roles throughout the human life cycle starting from reproduction to adult chronic disease risk. Rates of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy remain high worldwide. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of fertility problems, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and allergic disease in the offspring. Vitamin D is found naturally in only a few foods thus supplementation can provide an accessible and effective way to raise vitamin D status when dietary intakes and sunlight exposure are low. However, the possibility of overconsumption and possible adverse effects is under debate. The effect of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and early life on maternal and infant outcomes will be of particular focus in this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. kdsowell@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Krista D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Sowell
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. clkeen@ucdavis.edu.|Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. clkeen@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Carl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Keen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. jyuriuadams@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Janet Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Uriu-Adams
keywords: allergic disease; fertility; gestational diabetes; preeclampsia; pregnancy; toxicity; vitamin D; vitamin D supplementation