Knowledge, Awareness and Practices of Saudi Females about Osteoporosis

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disease that is characterized by reduction of bone mass and loss of bone microarchitecture leading to increased risk of bone fractures.

Objective: To assess knowledge, awareness and practices of Saudi females about osteoporosis.

Methodology: Cross-sectional study for 3 months (November, December 2019 and January 2020) on random sample of 537 Saudi females, the data was collected by using a questionnaire in Arabic language, data were analyzed by means of Descriptive statistics.

Results: Among the participants, there were 43% in the age group of (18-25 years) and 19% in the age group of (26-35 years), 41% completed university education. The main source of information about osteoporosis was friends and relatives (33%). Mean score of participant’s sufficient knowledge about risk factors of osteoporosis was 52%, mean score of participant’s sufficient knowledge about prevention and treatment of osteoporosis was 67%, mean score of participant’s sufficient knowledge about signs & symptoms of osteoporosis was 43%, mean score of participant’s sufficient knowledge about diagnosis of osteoporosis was 17% and the overall mean score of sufficient knowledge about osteoporosis was 45%. About 55% of study participants previously got vitamin D screening, 46% previously got calcium screening in blood, 8% previously got screened with DXA.

Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that the knowledge and awareness about osteoporosis among Saudi females are poor. The participants lacked knowledge relating to risk factors, signs and symptoms, diagnosis and prevention of osteoporosis and the practice regarding the prevention and detection of osteoporosis is poor.