Background: Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease in which the bones become weak, fragile, and more prone to fractures. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge and practice of adult Saudi population toward osteoporosis and to investigate factors affecting it.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in different regions in Saudi Arabia from March to September 2020. A total of 419 Saudi residents completed the validated pretested online questionnaire, which contained information about the socio-demographic factors, and the knowledge and practices about osteoporosis.
Results: Out of a total score of 26 points, the mean knowledge score was 16.1 ± 10.5 points. Nearly half of the participants had heard about osteoporosis. In addition, 64.7% said osteoporosis was primarily caused by increasing age, 64.9% thought that underlying medical conditions can cause it, 62.5% thought using some medications for treating some other disorder can lead to its development, and 66.6% said smoking and alcoholism
can trigger its development. When asked about the practices of following a healthy, active lifestyle, 19.6% of the total participants claimed that they always practiced it.
Conclusion: More than half of the participants had good knowledge about osteoporosis. It was found that gender, age group, nationality, marital status, educational level, occupation, income, and history of diagnosis with osteoporosis had a statistically significant association with the level of knowledge.
Key words: Osteoporosis, bone health, knowledge, practice, Saudi Arabia
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