Adequacy of calcium intake during pregnancy in a tertiary care center

Figures & data

Table 1 General and pregnancy characteristics of the studied women

Characteristics	Mean ± SD
Age (years)	29.2±5.4
Gestational age (weeks)	32.0±5.3
BMI (kg/m^2)	21.8±4.0
Pregnancy characteristics	Number (%)
First gravidity	118 (46.3)
Occupations
• Housewife	63 (24.7)
• Merchant	28 (11.0)
• Government officer	117 (9.0)
• Employee	23 (45.9)
• Farmer	6 (2.4)
Incomes (Baht/month)
≥20,000	141 (55.3)
>20,000	114 (44.7)
Address
Central area of Khon Kaen	75 (29.4)
Other district of Khon Kaen	114 (44.7)
Other provinces	66 (25.9)

Abbreviation: BMI, body mass index.

Table 2 Type and frequency of milk and food that reduce calcium absorption intake

Type and frequency	Number (%)	95% CI
Frequency of cow’s milk consumption
• Daily	191 (74.9)	69.6, 80.2
• Often (4–6 days/week)	31 (12.2)	9.7, 14.6
• Sometimes (2–3 days/week)	9 (3.5)	1.9, 5.2
• Occasionally (<2 days/week)	24 (9.4)	6.8, 12.0
Frequency of soy milk consumption	190 (74.5)	69.2, 79.9
Intake frequency of food that reduce calcium absorption
• Daily	16 (6.3)	3.3, 9.3
• Often (4–6 days/week)	22 (8.6)	6.6, 10.7
• Sometimes (2–3 days/week)	46 (18.0)	14.5, 21.6
• Occasionally (<2 days/week)	171 (67.1)	61.3, 72.9

Table 3 Amount of calcium intake and percentage of participants with adequate calcium intake, according to Thai AI

Features of calcium intake	Daily calcium intake (mg/day), mean ± SD	Percentage of women with adequate calcium intake (%, 95% CI)
Total calcium intake	1,256.9±625.1	74.9 (70.1, 79.7)
Frequency of milk intake
• Daily milk intake group	1,413.4±601.3	86.9 (84.7, 89.2)
• Often milk intake group	910.1±408.8	51.6 (49.3, 60.4)
• Sometimes milk intake group	934.1±613.6	44.4 (34.6, 54.3)
• Occasionally intake group	593.4±320.0	24.8 (14.6, 27.1)
Total calcium intake (excluding milk)	404.8±168.5	3.9 (2.0, 5.9)

Abbreviation: AI, adequate intake.

Table 4 Distribution of calcium sources from various foods

Food items	Calcium intake, mean ± SD	Calcium intake, median (interquartile range)
Milk	1,237.5±1,459.7	770.8 (267.7–1,728.0)
Fishes	113.8±74.0	101.8 (57.6–185.8)
Vegetables	77.1±43.8	70.7 (57.9–91.5)
Milk products	51.9±96.1	13.0 (0.0–66.4)
Soy products	40.5±102.9	20.3 (5.5–37.6)
Small fishes	35.3±81.8	0.0 (0.0–30.5)
Rice and noodles	35.0±18.9	34.4 (26.6–41.9)
Eggs	28.0±21.6	24.2 (19.9–32.4)
Fruits	26.3±27.5	19.7 (11.5–33.0)
Fish products	14.7±53.6	0.0 (0.0–0.0)
Seafood	11.8±39.0	0.0 (0.0–0.0)
Meats products	7.6±18.6	5.7 (4.1–8.4)
Bakeries	3.8±17.5	0.8 (0.0–6.5)
Beans	1.7±16.6	0.0 (0.0–1.9)
Small prawns	0.5±16.2	0.0 (0.0–0.0)
Insects	0.1±16.0	0.0 (0.0–0.0)
Drinks	0.0±15.9	0.0 (0.0–0.0)
Others	29.2±41.3	24.8 (0.0–49.6)