To study the awareness of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Indian women in a Northeast part of India: An evaluation of the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: Our study's objective is to determine the level of awareness in postmenopausal women in Guwahati, Northeast part of India, using the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Osteoporosis is the most common silent health problem in postmenopausal Indian women. An awareness level among this subset of women needs to study. The present study is based on a self-explanatory questionnaire. METHODS: We conducted a self-explanatory questionnaire study on 2000 postmenopausal women in Guwahati, North East region of India. The bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using calcaneum Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) to assess BMD. Baseline characteristics were noted and analyzed. RESULTS: The awareness level was noted only in757 (37.85%). Women with education level 12(th) standard and above have some awareness regarding osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the present study, we can conclude that there is a lack of awareness in postmenopausal women regarding osteoporosis in India's North-East region. This subset of women is unaware of the condition that can leads to fragility fracture if not address in time. The study emphasizes that health care professionals should conduct frequent awareness programs in the community to prevent this silent disease, and morbidities so arise from osteoporosis can be minimized.