A survey of a random sample of 1514 Norwegian women and men aged 16-79
years was undertaken to investigate knowledge of osteoporosis and att
itudes towards methods for preventing this disease. The interviews wer
e carried out by Central Bureau of Statistics of Norway as part of the
ir monthly national poll using a structured questionnaire. Women knew
more about osteoporosis than did men (p <0.001). In both men and women
increased knowledge of osteoporosis was correlated to a high level of
education. Furthermore it was clearly demonstrated that knowing someo
ne with osteoporosis or suffering from it oneself increased the knowle
dge of osteoporosis significantly in both women and men. Multiple regr
ession analysis confirmed the univariate analyses, and education was t
he strongest predictive factor for knowledge. To a hypothetical questi
on as many as two-thirds of the women answered that they would use lon
g-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent osteoporosis on th
e recommendation of their general practitioner. Their attitudes toward
s the use of estrogen therapy did not show any significant relation to
age, but their reluctance towards HRT increased with education (p <0.
001). When asked a question about their preferences regarding the use
of physical activity as a means to prevent osteoporosis, older women p
referred walking (p <0.001), whereas younger women wanted more organiz
ed athletic activity (p <0.001). The data demonstrated that there was
a high degree of general knowledge of osteoporosis and its consequence
s in the general population.