Osteoporosis among Bahraini Citizens: The First Report

Osteoporosis and its complications are increasing as the population is aging world over. Every country needs an initial assessment of prevalence to take appropriate steps in limiting the complications of osteoporosis. The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of osteoporosis in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

We retrospectively reviewed dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans of patients who underwent scans for the diagnosis of osteoporosis between January 2016 and December 2017 at the University Medical Center, King Abdullah Medical City, Dr. Sulaiman AlHabib Hospital, Kingdom of Bahrain. The data were collected from the picture archiving and communication system for the study period. Patients' medical records were reviewed for the investigations and treatment ordered. The data were entered into the database and analyzed using SPSS Inc., version 19.

A total of 205 patients with an average age of 58.39 ± 12.12 years were included in the study. There were 185 (90.25%) females and 20 (9.75%) males. Seventy-nine (38.5%) were osteoporotic based on the T score of either at the hip (-< 2.61 ± 1.08) or the spine (-< 3.26 ± 0.78), with a mean age of 60.8 ± 13.1 years. Seventy-two (91.1%) of the osteoporotic patients were female and 42 (58.4%) were ≥65 years. Patients who were osteoporotic were significantly older with P < 0.001. There were 9 patients (4.39%) who had osteoporosis-related fractures.

This study indicates that the prevalence of osteoporosis is common among Bahraini citizens. As the country's total population is <1.2 million, it will not be difficult to target the ≥65-year-old men and women in early diagnosis and treatment to prevent osteoporosis-related fractures.