Examination of osteoporosis knowledge levels, calcium intake and obesity status of premenopausal and postmenopausal women

This study was conducted to evaluate osteoporosis information levels, calcium intake and obesity status of premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The study was carried out with a total of 300 women, 150 premenopausal and 150 postmenopausal dec April 2021-October 2021. A questionnaire prepared to determine the general characteristics of individuals, their health information, eating habits, anthropometric measurements, osteoporosis information levels and physical activity status was applied online. In order to measure the level of osteoporosis knowledge of individuals, the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OBT) was used, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to determine the level of physical activity. A 24-hour nutrient consumption record was taken to determine daily energy and nutrient intake. The mean age of the women in the postmenopausal group was 55.70±5.74 years, and the mean age of the women in the premenopausal group was 33.13±9.89 years. The mean osteoporosis information scores of women were 19.21±3.27 in postmenopausal women and 17.30±4.21 in premenopausal women (p<0.05). It was found that in the postmenopausal and premenopausal groups, women who use nutrition supplements and women with a high level of education have a higher level of knowledge about osteoporosis (p<0.05). The frequency of obese patients was 43.4% in postmenopausal women and 9.3% in premenopausal women (p<0.05). It was determined that postmenopausal women had a higher saturated fat intake (DYA) than premenopausal women (p<0.05). It was found that high Body Mass Index (BMI) was associated with low osteoporosis information scores in postmenopausal women (p<0.05). It was found that BMI value is an important parameter affecting entering menopause, when BMI value increases by 1 unit, the risk of entering menopause increases by 26.8% (p<0.05). As a result, a high level of knowledge about osteoporosis may be associated with protective health behaviors of individuals against the disease. Keywords: Menopause, osteoporosis, nutritional status, obesity.