Osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs among middle-aged men and women in the Southern United States

Stacy Chelf; Robert E Davis; Martha A Bass; M Allison Ford; Ali D Firouzabadi; Jonathan T Leo; Vinayak K Nahar

doi:10.1515/jom-2022-0011

Osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs among middle-aged men and women in the Southern United States

J Osteopath Med. 2022 May 5;122(9):453-459. doi: 10.1515/jom-2022-0011. eCollection 2022 Sep 1.

Authors

Stacy Chelf¹, Robert E Davis², Martha A Bass³, M Allison Ford³, Ali D Firouzabadi⁴, Jonathan T Leo⁵, Vinayak K Nahar^{4

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Affiliations

¹ DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Knoxville, TN, USA.
² Substance Use and Mental Health Laboratory, Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
³ Department of Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management, School of Applied Sciences, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA.
⁴ Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine/John D. Bower School of Population Health, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
⁵ Department of Anatomy, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, AL, USA.
⁶ Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
⁷ Department of Clinical Research, School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.

PMID: 35491729
DOI: 10.1515/jom-2022-0011

Abstract

Context: The most common skeletal disease, osteoporosis, causes bone fragility due to decreased bone mass and bone microarchitecture destruction. The health belief model is often applied to asymptomatic, prevention-related diseases such as osteoporosis. Steps to mitigate the insidious nature of osteoporosis, including education, motivation, and monitoring of bone mineral density, must begin at an earlier age.

Objectives: This study evaluates the knowledge and health beliefs surrounding osteoporosis in a population of males and females 35-50 years old to determine sex-based differences in osteoporosis knowledge and beliefs and to assess the correlation between perceptions and health motivation.

Methods: Participants (81 males, 92 females) completed two questionnaires: the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test and the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale. Descriptive statistics were performed along with Pearson product-moment correlation analysis to determine the relationships between the variables. Sex-based differences were calculated utilizing independent t-tests.

Results: We discovered a statistically significant negative correlation between the barriers to exercise and health motivation (-0.434, p < 0.001) and a statistically significant positive correlation between the benefits of exercise and health motivation (0.385, p < 0.001). However, there was not a statistically significant correlation between health motivation with the following: the benefits of calcium, susceptibility, and the seriousness of osteoporosis. Between males and females, there was a statistically significant difference in exercise and calcium knowledge, susceptibility, and the benefits of both exercise and calcium (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Males and females 35-50 years old perceive themselves to have a low susceptibility to osteoporosis. They do not consider osteoporosis a serious disease and have little motivation to mitigate its inception or progression. Their perceptions show that barriers to exercise impact health motivation more than the perceived benefits of exercise.

Keywords: bone; calcium; exercise; health belief model; motivation; osteoporosis; perceptions.

MeSH terms

Adult
Bone Density
Calcium*
Calcium, Dietary
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Osteoporosis* / epidemiology

Substances

Calcium, Dietary
Calcium