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Calcium Dashboard – Details by Country

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)


Country Typology: Low disease risk, high intervention/policy environment

Health Data

Preterm Births:

  • Lancet Estimates: Preterm Birth Rate per 100 Live Births: 8.0 [7.7-8.4] 1
  • GBD Estimates: DALYS per 100,000 [CI]: 222 [191, 255] 2

Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - Preclampsia & Eclampsia Incidence: 3

  • % of Preeclampsia Cases: 2.60%
  • % of Eclampsia Cases: NR
  • % of Combined Preeclampsia and Eclampsia: NR

Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - DALYS & Deaths: 4

  • DALYs per 100,000: 2.60 [1.57, 4.24]
  • Deaths per 100,000: 0.01 [0.01, 0.01]

Bone Fractures Incidence Rate per 100,000 [CI]: 3316.7 [2971.9, 3727.1] 5

Diet and Food Supply

Calcium Intake: 1083mg/day (419.3) 6

Apparent Calcium Intake: 1211.7 mg/day 7

Policies

Calcium Fortification: 8
• Mandatory fortification of Wheat flour (1250mg/kg)

Antenatal Care Guidelines: 9

  • Supplementation Recommendation:
    No recommendation
  • Food-Based Recommendation:
    • Milk, yogurt, cheese
    • Milk-based sauces and puddings
    • Hot milky drinks

References:

1 Preterm Births - Lancet Estimates
Ohuma EO, Moller A-B, Bradley E, et al. National, regional, and global. estimates of preterm birth in 2020, with trends from 2010: a systematic analysis. Lancet 2023; 402: 1261–71.

2 Preterm Births - GBD Estimates
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Compare Data Visualization. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2023. Available from http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare. (Accessed 7/23/2025). For terms and conditions of use, please visit http://www.healthdata.org/about/terms-and-conditions

3 Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - Preclampsia & Eclampsia Incidence
Arechvo, A., Wright, A., Syngelaki, A., et al. (2023). Incidence of pre‐eclampsia: effect of deprivation. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 61(1), 26-32.

4 Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - DALYS & Deaths
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Compare Data Visualization. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2023. Available from http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare. (Accessed 9/16/2024).

5 Bone Fractures
Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021). Seattle, United States: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), 2022. Available from https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/. (Accessed 7/18/2025).

6 Calcium Intake
Arechvo, A., Syngelaki, A., Magee, L. A., Moore, S. E., Doel, A., Wright, A., Nicolaides, K. H., & von Dadelszen, P. (2025). Maternal Calcium Intake at 36 Weeks' Gestation and Pre-Eclampsia Risk-A Cohort Study. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 132(6), 816–825.

7 Apparent Calcium Intake
Updated for 2022 based on: Lividini, K., Masters, W.A. Tracing global flows of bioactive compounds from farm to fork in nutrient balance sheets can help guide intervention towards healthier food supplies. Nat Food 3, 703–715 (2022).

8 Calcium Fortification
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, The Secretary of State for Health, The Secretary of State for Wales. Statutory Instruments, 1998 No.141 Food, The bread and flour regulations 1998. United Kingdom. 22/January/1998. [http://legislation.data.gov.uk/uksi/1998/141/made/data.htm?wrap=true]. From: Global Fortification Data Exchange. Accessed 11 October 2024. [http://www.fortificationdata.org.]

9 Antenatal Care Guidelines
Nidirect. Government Services. Care during pregnancy. Accessed June 20, 2024. https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/pregnancy-and-trying-baby/care-during-pregnancy