Knowledge About Osteoporosis in a Malaysian Population
- 1 April 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Asia-Pacific journal of public health
- Vol. 22 (2), 233-241
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539509343948
Abstract
To determine the depth and sources of knowledge about osteoporosis (OP) among the public in Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to attendees of health-related public forums. A total of 87.1% of the attendees had heard of OP. Of these, 89.5% were concerned about getting OP. Significantly more women than men ( P = .015), those with more than 10 years of schooling ( P < .001), and those earning more than $US285 per month ( P = .022) had heard of OP. Knowledge of OP risk factors was good: 97.1% identified low calcium intake, 87.8% lack of exercise, 80.0% family history of OP, and 75.8% postmenopausal status. A total of 38.7% of the attendees thought that OP was more serious than cancer and 35.1% more serious than heart disease; 55.7% obtained information about OP from newspapers and 46.4% from magazines. In this self-selected population, women, the better educated, and those earning higher incomes were more aware of OP. Knowledge of OP was obtained mainly from printed materials.Keywords
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