Awareness of osteoporosis in premenopausal and postmenopausal women applying to family medicine

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate osteoporosis awareness and determine the level of awareness in premenopausal and postmenopausal women aged between 40-65 years who applied to the family medicine unit. Materials and Methods: The study included 531 women between the ages of 40-65 who applied to the AHB No. 42.26.193 in Selçuklu District of Konya for any reason between 01.08.2024 - 01.04.2025. After obtaining their voluntary consent, 54 questions were asked to the participants including sociodemographic information and osteoporosis awareness scale. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 package program. Results: The mean age of the women participating in the study was 50.41±7.69 (40-65). 49.7% (n=264) of the women were premenopausal and 50.3% (n=267) were postmenopausal. 61.4% (n=326) of the participants were primary school graduates, while 11.5% (n=61) had a university degree or higher. 84.6% (n=449) of the women were housewives. 46.7% (n=248) of the women included in the study had a chronic disease. The frequency of smoking among the premenopausal and postmenopausal women participating in the study was 12.4% (n=66), while the number of people who consumed alcohol was 2 (0.4%). The median age of premenopausal women was 43 (40-56), and the median age of postmenopausal women was 57 (41-65). The number of people receiving osteoporosis treatment was 18 and it was found to be significantly higher in the postmenopausal period (n=16). The mean score obtained from the osteoporosis awareness scale was found to be 52.8±17.0. The median score obtained from the OFÖ was 54 for premenopausal women, while the median score for postmenopausal women was measured as 48. The frequency of being over 50 years of age was 92.8 (n=231), the frequency of having primary school education or below was 60.9% (n=227), the frequency of being a housewife was 54.6% (n=245), the frequency of having a chronic disease was 69.8% (n=173), and the frequency of using regular medication was 70.2% (n=172) in postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal women had significantly higher median age (57), median BMI (31), median number of pregnancies (4), and median number of births (3). The frequency of those who preferred sports other than walking as physical activity was significantly higher in premenopausal women (p=0.046). When the osteoporosis awareness scale was examined, bone physiology dimension, exercise dimension, and osteoporosis awareness scale total score values were found to be higher in premenopausal women (p<0.001, p=0.034, p=0.023, respectively). Normal and overweight women had higher bone physiology dimension, protective behaviors dimension, exercise dimension, osteoporosis characteristics dimension, and osteoporosis awareness scale total score values (p<0.001, p=0.006, p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusion: When the scores obtained from the osteoporosis awareness scale in this study are evaluated, it is seen that the participants have a low level of osteoporosis awareness. Primary care workers and family physicians have important duties in terms of guidance in order to increase osteoporosis awareness and to perform necessary and preventive tests. It is also important that the relevant specialties in the hospital request the test in the form of screening. Prevention of osteoporosis, which can lead to fractures in the postmenopausal period, should be started early in life. A healthy diet, adequate physical activity, calcium and vitamin D supplements are important to improve bone health. There is also a need for studies to increase the number of accessible green areas in neighborhoods to increase and encourage walking. Keywords: Awareness; Osteoporosis; Postmenopausal; Premenopausal