Awareness of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Indian women: An evaluation of Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale.

CONTEXT: The level of awareness about osteoporosis in postmenopausal women who are the common sufferers.

AIMS: This study aims to evaluate the level of awareness in postmenopausal women using the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS).

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Osteoporosis has emerged as a common health problem in geriatric population. A proactive role needs to be played for preventing its consequences. Before initiating any preventive measures, an evaluation of awareness level of the target population is necessary. The questionnaire-based study design was used for this study.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire (OHBS)-based study in 100 postmenopausal women in Chandigarh was conducted. The bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in each case by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of the participants were noted.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate any correlation between the various components of the OHBS and the BMD.

RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was noted in the seven component parameters of OHBS among the normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic women suggesting that the health belief regarding susceptibility is not much different between the three groups of the study population. A statistically significant difference between the mean BMI of normal and osteoporotic population was noted.

CONCLUSIONS: The results show that there is a great deficit in the awareness level of postmenopausal Indian women regarding osteoporosis. Most of the women were unaware of the condition and the means to prevent it. The study emphasizes that health care professionals have lot of ground to cover to decrease the incidence of osteoporosis and its associated health problem.