Bone health and awareness of osteoporosis in women aged 40-60 years in Jiaxing City, China

Objective To evaluate the pattern of bone mineral density in native Jiaxing women, and to investigate their awareness of osteoporosis.Methods A total of 538 native Jiaxing women aged 40 to 60 years were recruited from January 2022 to December 2022 when they had routine examination in the physical examination center of Jiaxing Maternal and Child Health Hospital. The Chinese version of Osteoporosis Prevention and Cognition Tool (OPAAT-C) was used to evaluate participants' cognitive level of osteoporosis. Bone mineral density (BMD) of participants’ lumbar spine (L1-L4) and left hip (Neck/Troch/Ward’s) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.Results The mean total score of the awareness about osteoporosis (general knowledge, complications, and prevention) was 22.08±2.74, which was suboptimal. The higher the education level, the higher the score of awareness (p<0.01). Medical staff had the highest awareness rate of osteoporosis and the farmer had the lowest. Lumber spine and hip BMD of all sites was significantly decreased with increasing age (P < 0.001). Pre-menopausal women had higher BMD than post-menopausal women at all lumbar spine and hip sites (p<0.01). The overall frequency of osteoporosis was 10.8% in the lumbar spine, 8.6% in the total hip and 17.7% in either site. Conclusion Osteoporosis and osteopenia are highly prevalent among native Jiaxing women but their awareness of osteoporosis is inadequate. To reduce the prevalence of osteoporosis, especially among the unemployed, we should carry out effective health education through multimedia to raise their awareness of osteoporosis. In addition, menopausal hormone therapy should also be considered in menopausal women.