OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to assess the risk factors of osteoporosis in the female Portuguese population 50 years or older and to raise awareness about the disease.

METHODS: This study is a non-interventional, multicentre, cross-sectional study of female Portuguese community pharmacy users. Women aged 50 or older, without a diagnosis of osteoporosis were invited to participate in the study. Information was collected through an adapted version of the IOF Osteoporosis Risk Check encompassing sociodemographic and anthropometric data alongside with risk factors for osteoporosis.

RESULTS: From May 4th to July 8th 2021, 102 community pharmacies recruited at least one participant resulting in a total sample of 1343 eligible individuals. The median age of screened participants was 62 years (IQR 56-70) and most belonged to the 50-59 or 60-69 age class. Almost half of the individuals had 6 years of basic education and, at the time of screening, 45.6% were employed. Regarding screening results, 1213 (90.3%) of screened subjects were at risk of osteoporosis, 106 (7.9%) were not at risk and in 24 (1.8%) cases the risk was unknown. Among the participants at risk, 20.5% had one risk factor. The most frequent risk factors were: taking medications commonly associated with osteoporosis (76.3%), age (67.5%) and other medical conditions associated with the disease (54.9%). In contrast, BMI below nineteen, use of alcohol and tobacco, and family history of hip fracture accounted for approximately 1.7%, 9.0% and 14.0%, respectively. The prevalence of risk factors for osteoporosis was estimated at 92.0% (CI_95%, 90.5%-93.4%) at national level. Results from the sensitivity analysis showed that this value can vary between 88.5% (CI95% 86.8%-90.2%) and 92.1% (CI95% 90.7%-93.5%).

CONCLUSIONS: Most participants screened were at risk of osteoporosis suggesting that the prevalence of risk factors for osteoporosis is high among Portuguese women aged 50 years and above.