Assessment of osteoporosis knowledge among adult Saudi females attending the family medicine department at Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by loss of bone mineral density, deterioration of bone structure, bone fragility, and it is associated with high risk of fractures. The prevalence of osteoporosis among Saudis is estimated to be 34% in females and 30.7% in males. The aim of this study was to know the level of knowledge about osteoporosis among Saudi females at Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study conducted between January 2019 and January 2020. We used the osteoporosis knowledge assessment tool (OKAT) for data collection. The survey assessed the understanding of symptoms and fracture risk, risk factors, treatment availability and preventive factors for osteoporosis. RESULTS: The overall knowledge of our 376 participants was good with a mean score of (66%). Participants had more knowledge about the symptoms and fracture risk and the preventive factors such as physical activity and diet compared to the other subscales of the OKAT. There was a significant difference between the knowledge of younger and older females (>40 yrs.), where younger females had lower scores on the OKAT. CONCLUSION: This study showed that knowledge about osteoporosis was good among females attending the family medicine clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, younger females were less knowledgeable, which means that more effort should be made to increase the awareness about osteoporosis especially among the younger females.