RESUMO
Background: As a woman approaches menopause there are gradual changes in the physiology of her body. One of the prominent changes is an increase in the fragility of bone due to calcium variation causing Osteoporosis. A low level of estrogen, which occurs around the time of menopause leads to increased bone loss. A woman can undergo either primary or secondary osteoporosis. In most cases, the first 'symptom' of osteoporosis is broken bone. As osteoporosis is an emerging health problem, that creates an economic burden, it needs a special focus to promote healthy ageing. Knowledge is the best contributor to reducing the risk of premenopausal women getting osteoporosis. Methods: Total 70 pre-menopausal women living in chosen rural communities in Bagalkot were chosen with a convenient sampling technique. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to gather information concerning knowledge about osteoporosis. Chi-square analysis was used to uncover the relationship between knowledge about osteoporosis with socio-demographic factors. Results: Total 24.28% of women were having good knowledge, 54.28% were having average knowledge, and 21.42% of women were having poor knowledge about osteoporosis. A significant relationship was attained between knowledge regarding osteoporosis and occupation (?2=14.20, p<0.007) and formal education (?2=16.22, p<0.039) at the position of the significance of 0.05. Conclusion: After evaluation of knowledge on the subject of osteoporosis among pre-menopausal women, it was found that most women had average knowledge regarding osteoporosis.