Perception and awareness of osteoporosis and its related risk factors among women: A cross-sectional study
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Manal Ayyash 1 * , Kamel Jaber 2 , Rajaa Daghash 3 , Rana Abu-Farha 3 , Eman Alefishat 4 5 6
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1 Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman, JORDAN2 School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, JORDAN3 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman, JORDAN4 Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Health Science, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE5 Department Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, JORDAN6 Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Objectives: This study was designed to assess the awareness of women of the risk factors and preventive measures of osteoporosis.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in Jordan. During the study period, a convenience sample of women were invited to participate via a survey link communicated through social media. Linear regression was used to screen independent variables affecting participants’ awareness of osteoporosis, its risk factors, and preventive measures.
Results: 426 women agreed to participate in this study, with a median age of 38.5 years (IQR=16.0). Results showed that women have a median awareness score of 5.0 out of 9.0 (IQR=4.0) about osteoporosis risk factors, whereas women with higher educational levels (diploma or higher) and those with medical-related degrees have a higher awareness about osteoporosis risk factors compared to others (p≤0.05).
Medical websites were the primary source used to obtain information about osteoporosis by the participating women (n=236, 55.4%). Also, results showed that more than 90% of the women believed that osteoporosis is a chronic silent disease that makes your bones less dense and more fragile (n=418, 98.1%), and that bone strength may increase by taking vitamin D and calcium (n=405, 95.0%).
Conclusion: This study showed that women had an intermediate level of awareness of osteoporosis and prevention measures. The importance of medical websites and social media as sources of information was also demonstrated. More public targeted campaigns are needed to promote awareness of osteoporosis, its risk factors, prevention, and treatment.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

ELECTRON J GEN MED, Volume 20, Issue 3, June 2023, Article No: em475

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/13010

Publication date: 01 May 2023

Online publication date: 28 Feb 2023

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Article Downloads: 1074

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