Abstract

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with an osteoporosis prevalence of 24.1% in 2005. Only few study reported on osteoporosis awareness. Aim of this study was to investigate the awareness and knowledge regarding osteoporosis among persons attending orthopaedic clinic at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. A total of 368 participants (male and female) aged 20 years old or older, was assessed using the Osteoporosis Questionnaire (OPQ). The mean total OPQ score was 1.7 (SD ± 3.08; range -5 to 9; maximum possible score 20). Subjects with family history of osteoporosis and high education level were found to have significantly higher OPQ scores (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) with respect to different age groups, gender, ethnicities, and menopausal status. The main source of osteoporosis knowledge was magazine/newspaper (45.9%). An overall low score indicates that new strategies to increase awareness of osteoporosis among the public is urgently required.