Background: Osteoporosis is a medical condition that involves weakness of bones and reduction in bone mass. Multiple elements can be associated as risk factors that may lead to the development of osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness of osteoporosis among men and women in Hail, Saudi Arabia, and to study the relationship between level of awareness of osteoporosis and different socio-demographic factors.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 769 participants were randomly enrolled; 79.1% were female and 20.9% were male; a pretested questionnaire was used in data collection. Statistical Package for Social Science was used to analyze the collected data.
Results: In the study population, 79.1% of the participants were female and 20.9% were male. Most of the participants on this survey were in the age group of 20-29 years (47.1%). Only 5.6% of the participants were smokers. Out of a total score of 32 points, the mean knowledge score was 22.3 ± 2.9 points. The percentage of participants who had a good knowledge about osteoporosis was 33.7%. Overall, more than 80% of the participants knew that osteoporosis is more common among females, especially above the age of 50. More than 80% of the participants knew it can increase the risk of bone fracture. Nearly half of the participants knew that osteoporosis affects all bones in the body including the jaw (55%) and that smoking increases the risk of having osteoporosis (48.6%). Regarding physical activity, 53.8% believed that it is beneficial for people with osteoporosis, and 46.9% agreed that high intensity exercises help improve bone health. Age and gender were significantly associated with the awareness regarding osteoporosis.
Conclusion: Data from this study revealed that the level of knowledge about osteoporosis among the general population of Hail, Saudi Arabia, was very low. Although most of the study population knew osteoporosis is more common among females above the age of 50, low knowledge was recorded regarding other aspects of osteoporosis like risk factors and preventive measure. This emphasized on the need for effective health education programs which have proved to have a beneficial effect on the awareness of the general population.
Key words: Osteoporosis, Awareness, Knowledge, Risk factors, Hail, Saudi Arabia
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