A Survey to Assess Osteoporosis Knowledge of the General population of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Osteoporosis refers to a disorder of the skeletal tissues that affect the density and quality of thebone. In most communities, the disorder is known to affect up to half of the population of women aged above 50years, while affecting up to 205 of men of the similar age. Various research studies have however revealed thatthe majority of people are usually not aware of this condition. Normally, fractures resulting from osteoporosiscan lead to disability, premature mortality or poor quality of life.This study therefore aims to assess the knowledgeand awareness among adult residents of Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding osteoporosis and itsrisk factors. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, data was collected among adult residents in Riyadh inSaudi Arabia. It used stratified random sampling method for the selection of the study population. For the datacollection, the study used a pre-coded self-administered questionnaire. It used SPSS software version 20 in datamanagement and analysis. Results: 385 completed the survey through the questionnaires, 41.8% were females,and 58.2% were males. From the chi-square analysis, we failed to reject the null hypothesis that there is noassociation between gender and awareness of risk factors associated with osteoporosis. Conclusion: Althoughvarious research studies have asserted that awareness of risk factors associated with osteoporosis is mostworrisome compared to other elements such as attitude and preventive measures, this study deduces thatawareness does not depend on gender or age. Instead, it agrees with assertions from other studies, which indicatethat awareness is positively correlated with levels of education.