Awareness of Osteoporosis among Al-Ahsa Population, KSA (original) (raw)

Abstract: Background: Osteoporosis is a serious silent disease that develops slowly over so many years and often diagnosed after the fragility fracture happened. Developing this disease depends on many factors like genetic predisposition, aging, dietary habits, physical activity, endocrine changes, lifestyles, general health condition and using medications. Aim: To assess the level of awareness of our subjects (aged 40 years and more) about osteoporosis and its risk and protective factors. Methods: An in-public places designed questionnaire, and carried out in Al-Ahsa Governorate during January 2016. The targeted group was 345 randomly selected people aged 40 years and above. The pre-designed questionnaire consisted of 27 questions. Questions were on socio-demographics, knowledge on osteoporosis (occurrence, signs and symptoms, family history, risk factors, prevention, best screening age and the relationship of osteoporosis with the consumed milk and dairy products, soft drink, physical activity and smoking habits). Results: Only 11% of the participants did not know about osteoporosis before. 8.12% has been diagnosed with osteoporosis most of them were female (75%). Less than one fifth of our sample (17.68%) knows that osteoporosis is a silent disease. Unsurprising, due to Al-Ahsa people life style where there is lake of regular activity (only 29.6% of the subjects practice sports activity regularly), the mean BMI is high (29.2 kg/m2). Only 2.3% of the subjects were aware of the proper time for screening for osteoporosis. Most of the participants usually take their medical knowledge from either the internet or treating physician. Conclusions: The level of awareness about osteoporosis in our community does not guarantee a patient will practice good bone health behavior. Keywords: Ahsa, awareness, prevention, Saudi Arabia, Osteoporosis.