Osteoporosis knowledge and awareness among rheumatoid arthritis patients: A cross-sectional controlled study

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of knowledge and awareness of osteoporosis (OP) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Patients and methods: The cross-sectional study included 100 RA patients (26 males, 74 females; mean age: 51±11 years; range, 28 to 67 years) who had not been diagnosed with OP and a control group of 50 healthy subjects (16 males, 34 females; mean age: 53±11 years; range, 29 to 70 years) between February 2022 and June 2022. The demographic data of age, sex, and education level of all the participants were recorded. Disease duration and the drugs used were recorded for the RA patients. The revised Osteoporosis Knowledge Test and the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale questionnaires were completed by the participants.

Results: There was no significant difference determined between the RA patients and the control group in OP knowledge levels. A positive correlation was determined between education level and OP knowledge level and between disease duration and OP awareness level. RA patients with a family history of OP, those in the postmenopausal period, and those using biological disease-modifying drugs thought they were at risk of OP at a higher rate.

Conclusion: While the levels of knowledge and awareness of OP were determined to be similar in the RA patients and the control group, the vast majority of RA patients did not know that they were at risk of developing OP. In addition, when the data obtained in this study are taken into consideration, there appears to be a need for health strategies such as educational programs and informing RA patients about OP.

Citation: Tomay Aksoy Ö, Kutluk Ö, Sezer İ. Osteoporosis knowledge and awareness among rheumatoid arthritis patients: A crosssectional controlled study. Arch Rheumatol 2024;39(3):411-418. doi: 10.46497/ ArchRheumatol.2024.10171.

The study protocol was approved by the Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Ethics Committee (date: 16.02.2022, no: KAEK-30), and the study was performed according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

A written informed consent was obtained from each patient.

Idea/concept: Ö.T.A., Ö.K., ‹.S.; Data collection, writing article, analysis and/or interpretation, literature review: Ö.T.A., Ö.K.; Critical review: ‹.S.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.