Knowledge about osteoporosis in a Malaysian population.
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.
Yeap
Swan Sim
SS
Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. yeapss@myjaring.net
Goh
Emily Man Lee
EM
Das Gupta
Esha
E
D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires