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Calcium Dashboard – Details by Country

Sri Lanka


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

Health Data

Preterm Births:

  • Lancet Estimates: Preterm Birth Rate per 100 Live Births: 7.8 [4.0-14.5] 1
  • GBD Estimates: DALYS per 100,000 [CI]: 436 [356, 531] 2

Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - DALYS & Deaths: 3

  • DALYs per 100,000: 8.20 [5.63, 11.79]
  • Deaths per 100,000: 0.09 [0.05, 0.14]

Bone Fractures Incidence Rate per 100,000 [CI]: 1973.2 [1824, 2129.3] 4

Diet and Food Supply

Calcium Intake: 247.7mg/day (54.7) 5

Apparent Calcium Intake: 584.6 mg/day 6

Policies

Calcium Fortification:
No fortification policy

Antenatal Care Guidelines: 7

  • Supplementation Recommendation:
    0.6 g/day of calcium for pregnant women at high risk for preeclampsia and low calcium intake after 12 weeks of gestation
  • Food-Based Recommendation:
    • Milk and milk products
    • Fish with bones (e.g., sprats)
    • Nuts
    • Leafy greens
    • Dried fruits
    • Wholegrain cereals

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 - 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).

4 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).

5 Calcium Intake
Pathirathna ML, Haruna M, Sasaki S, Yonezawa K, Usui Y, Hagiwara Y. Dietary Energy and Nutrient Intake Among Pregnant Women in Sri Lanka: Findings From the Sri Lanka Mother and Newborn Growth Cohort Study. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2025 Feb;38(1):e70020.

6 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).

7 Antenatal Care Guidelines
Family Health Bureau, Ministry of Health. Basic Maternal Care. A Manual for Healthcare Providers. Published online 2023. Accessed May 30, 2024. https://fhb.health.gov.lk/guideline/