Calculation of the contribution of water to calcium intake in low‐ and middle‐income countries

CORMICK, GABRIELA; SETTECASE, EUGENIA; WU, MICHAELLA L.; NICHOLS, PAULINA M.; DEVIA, MARA; DZIARSKI, ALISHA; MATAMOROS, NATALIA; PUCHULU, MARÍA B.; BELIZÁN, JOSÉ M.; GIBBONS, LUZ

ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2023

0077-8923

Dietary calcium intake is low inmany countries, particularly in low- and middle-incomecountries (LMICs).Water is often overlooked as a source of dietary calcium despite itbeing universally consumed and providing good calcium bioavailability. Our objectivewas to assess water distribution systems in LMICs and to develop a formula to simulatethe contribution of different water sources to calcium availability. We calculated thecontribution of drinking water considering different calcium concentration levels toestimate total calcium availability.We consider a country’s households’ access to drinkingwater sources and the distribution of the country’s population by age and gender.Calcium availability could be increased by an average of 49 mg of calcium per personper day in the 62 countries assessed if calcium in drinking water was considered. In22 (31%) of the countries studied, 80% of households are supplied by water sourcesthat could increase calcium availability. Improving calcium concentration in watercould be considered as a strategy in LMICs to slightly improve calcium availability.