Abstract
Introduction: Osteoporosis is a common disease with significant morbidity. It usually affects females due to breast feeding without supplementation and hormonal changes. However, osteoporosis can be prevented or even improved through some measures. Yet prevention of osteoporosis is highly dependent on the population knowledge about these measures. Objective: Our goal is to evaluate the community awareness about osteoporosis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed to all osteoporotic patients meeting the inclusion criteria will be recruited in this study in the period from September 2019 to October 2019 at NGHA endocrinology clinic. All data were recorded in a pre -designed and validated excel sheet. Data were represented in terms of frequencies and valid percentages for categorical variables. Results: 69 participants responded to this questionnaire. Mean score for the whole cohort was 16.28 +/- 6.64, with a minimum score of 3 and maximum score of 33. Additionally, there is a significant difference between the level of knowledge of patients and care givers at p value =0.042. Care givers had a significantly higher mean score (17.38 +/- 6.357). Moreover, level of knowledge among different educational level differed significantly at p-value =0.005. Participants with postgraduate degree had the highest score (23.67 +/- 4.041), with a direct correlation between level of knowledge and educational level. Conclusion: Level of knowledge of the Saudi patients and caregivers is considered unsatisfactory, further efforts are required to improve this level of knowledge.