Awareness of osteoporosis in a polytechnic in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Evaluation of Osteoporosis Perception Among Saudi Arabian Premenopausal Women: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study Using the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT)

INTRODUCTION

Osteoporosis is a major clinical problem that affects the whole population, especially women. It is a condition that is becoming more prevalent with aging. The increase in bone fragility associated with the disease can lead to fractures, even from minor trauma. Our goal is to evaluate the extent of knowledge about osteoporosis and perceptions of it among premenopausal women in Saudi Arabia.

METHOD

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among premenopausal women during the months of June and July 2021. We distributed an online questionnaire on social networking sites and applications that Saudi women use on a daily basis. We used the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) to evaluate the responses.

RESULT

A total of 661 women took part in our study; 159 of them were excluded because they had either reached the menopausal period or had already been diagnosed with the disease. The overall perception of osteoporosis is noticeably poor, as only 55% of respondents had an acceptable level of knowledge. In addition, we found a statistically significant association between education level and knowledge level (p-value = 0.044).

CONCLUSION

The findings revealed that more than half the participants scored "acceptable" in terms of their understanding of the disease, which indicates a serious awareness gap. This outcome demonstrates the necessity of increasing community awareness about osteoporosis to reduce potential harm and the financial burden of healthcare.

Screening for Bone Mineral Density and Assessment Knowledge Level of Low Peak Bone Risk Factors and Preventive Practices Among Kuwaiti Future Mothers

Background

Attaining greater peak bone mass (PBM) prior to the onset of bone loss is getting increasing public health attention as healthy strong bones are essential to maintain our life. Females are more susceptible to bone loss. Knowledge and awareness about low peak bone mass and its related risk factors are important contributors to its preventive behavior.

Objective

To screen apparently healthy young Kuwaiti future mothers for low bone mineral density (BMD) and to assess their knowledge level about determinants of PBM and preventive practices.

Methods

A cross-sectional comparative study on 445 eligible women aged 18–35 years (either students or employees from Kuwait University) was performed. Data on socio-demographic and lifestyle variables were obtained by a semi-structured questionnaire. Their knowledge was assessed using the modified Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT). Bone mineral Density (BMD) was measured using Quantitative Ultrasonography (QUS).

Results

More than half (59.3%) of females had poor knowledge. A statistically significant relation was noted between the overall knowledge score and age, college, occupation, and socioeconomic class (P<0.05 for each). Only 13.9% have low Z-score by QUS. By logistic regression, less carbonated beverages and coffee consumption positively affect BMD, while inadequate exercises level, indoor exposure to sunlight, and less frequency of brisk walking negatively affect BMD.

Conclusion

Unacceptable knowledge score significantly associated with BMD Z-score status. More attention should be devoted to education programs targeting adolescents and young females to promote knowledge about PBM and practice towards accrual and maintenance of bone health.

Osteoporosis in Africa-where are we now

Africa is experiencing an exponential increase in the number of older persons. The number of persons surviving with human immunodeficiency virus is simultaneously increasing due to improved availability of anti-retroviral therapy. The burden of non-communicable diseases, in particular, osteoporosis and its consequent fragility fractures, is also predicted to increase. Osteoporosis, however, remains a neglected disease and there are no age-standardized reference data available to accurately screen and diagnose individuals with osteoporosis. Epidemiological studies reporting the incidence of hip fracture or vertebral fractures are limited from Africa, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. The studies are usually limited as they are based on a retrospective data and small study numbers and often from a single study site. However, compared with early initial studies, the more recent studies show that osteoporosis and fractures are increasing across the continent. The overall incidence rates for osteoporosis and fractures still vary greatly between different regions in Africa and ethnic groups. Predisposing factors are similar with those in developed countries, but awareness of osteoporosis is sorely lacking. There is a lack of awareness among the population as well as health authorities, making it extremely difficult to quantify the burden of disease. There is great potential for research into the need and availability of preventive strategies. The FRAX® tool needs to be developed for African populations and may circumvent the shortage of bone densitometry.

Effect of Education on Preventive Behaviors of Osteoporosis in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is one of the diseases that can be prevented by correcting health behaviors during adolescence.

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of education on preventive behaviors of osteoporosis including physical activity, calcium intake and practice (primary outcomes) and knowledge and attitude related to osteoporosis (secondary outcomes) in adolescents.

METHOD

A search was done in Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Sciences, Scopus, Google Scholar, SID and Magiran regardless of the time limit. To evaluate the quality of selected controlled trials, Cochrane collaboration' instrument was used for assessing the risk of bias. RevMan software was used to analysis and report the data.

RESULTS

Of 2159 articles retrieved, 20 of them were reviewed and 18 of them entered the mete-analysis. The meta-analysis showed significant differences between the education and control groups in terms of calcium intake (SMD = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.55 to 1.02, P < 0.00001), practice (SMD = 0.54, 95%CI = 0.41 to 0.68, P < 0.0001), knowledge (SMD = 1.76, 95%CI = 1.10 to 2.42, P < 0.00001) and attitude (SMD = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.53 to 1.40, P < 0.0001) mean score in adolescents but education is not effective on average minute/week of physical activity per week (MD = 31.94, 95%CI = -6.53 to 70.40, P = 0.10), mean score of physical activity (MD = 2.66, 95%CI = -0.55 to 5.88, P = 0.10) and percent of students participated in the physical activity (OR = 1.45, 95%CI = 0.30 to 6.91, P = 0.64).

CONCLUSION

Education is effective in improving their knowledge and attitudes toward osteoporosis. It can also improve some health-related behaviors for bone health such as sufficient dairy calcium intake but it has not been effective in establishing a regular exercise program.

Inter - Relationship of Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude, Some Socio-Economic Variables and Osteoporosis in Sample of Egyptian Women

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is a global health problem, and its prevalence is rapidly increasing worldwide.

AIM

The aim was to assess the awareness concerning some nutritional and socio-economic variables causes the disease in a sample of Egyptian women.

METHODS

This study was done among 116 female volunteers. They were divided into two groups, pre and post-menopausal, with a mean age of 42.05 ± 8.25 & 51.13 ± 5.82 years and mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.83 ± 8.18 & 34.24 ± 8.80 kg/m². A standardised questionnaire, socioeconomic and food frequency chart were used to assess osteoporosis and food intake awareness. Bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Statistical analyses were done using simple percentage and Chi-square test.

RESULTS

Data revealed that a low percentage of pre and post-menopausal women were aware of osteoporosis and fracture (16.67% & 12.96% and 30.65% & 19.35%). They had incomplete knowledge about the sources and the beneficial effects of consumption of calcium and vitamin D rich diet. Non-osteoporotic women showed more awareness. Odds ratio predict occupations and educations levels as risk factors for osteoporosis.

CONCLUSION

Awareness about osteoporosis and consumption healthy diet were low among Egyptian women, so it is important to implement special osteoporosis prevention program.

A Review of Knowledge, Belief and Practice Regarding Osteoporosis among Adolescents and Young Adults

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Increasing knowledge, correcting health belief and promoting osteoprotective practices are effective measures for building and maintaining strong bone throughout ones’ life-span. This review aims to summarize the contemporary evidence on the knowledge, beliefs and practice of adolescents and young adults on bone health. We performed literature searches using the PubMed and Scopus databases to identify original studies from 2008 to May 2018 using the search terms “(knowledge OR beliefs OR attitude OR practice OR behaviours OR physical activity OR exercise OR diet OR nutrition) AND (young OR youth OR adolescents OR children OR young adults OR students OR teenager) AND (osteoporosis OR bone health)”. Of the 3206 articles found, 34 met the inclusion criteria. Studies showed that most adolescents and young adults had poor knowledge and expressed disinterest in osteoporosis. They believed that other diseases were more serious than osteoporosis, contributing to low perceived susceptibility and seriousness towards this disease. Popular media emerged as a platform to obtain information regarding osteoporosis. The lack of knowledge and misconceptions about osteoporosis led to poor osteoprotective practices. As a conclusion, the current evidence revealed a lack of awareness about osteoporosis among adolescents and young adults. Educational interventions may be useful to improve the awareness of osteoporosis among this population.