Assessment of Knowledge and Risk Factors of Osteoporosis Among the Adult and Elderly

Abstract

A bone-healthy lifestyle is essential for everyone, like babies, children, teenagers, and young adults, and is particularly important for patients with osteoporosis, the most common skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Low bone mass and skeletal fragility in adults may be due to low peak bone mass in early adulthood, excessive bone loss in later life, or both. Even though osteoporosis is a preventable disease, its high prevalence has resulted in massive morbidity, mortality, and decreased quality of life due to a lack of disease knowledge and awareness among the general public. Evidence based on other disorders shows that learning about the disease can help in early recognition and information about risk factors leads to prevention through lifestyle and behaviour modifications. A six-month cross-sectional study was performed with the objective of assessing the knowledge of osteoporosis, identifying the risk factors and exploring the association between sociodemographic factors and knowledge levels of osteoporosis among adults and the elderly by using the Revised Osteoporosis Knowledge Test. Participants were categorized into different socioeconomic classes by using the Kuppuswamy scale. In our study, from a total of 553 participants' responses, 217 (39.24%) were men, and 336 (60.75%) were women, with no significant variation in mean age distribution. Most participants belong to the upper-middle-class category, with a comparatively high percentage of women, followed by the lower-middle-class sort. The knowledge and understanding of osteoporosis and its contributory risk factors are poor among current study participants, which stresses the need to improve understanding among men and women through awareness programs, mainly targeting the low socioeconomic category populations.