Concern and Risk Perception: Effects on Osteoprotective Behaviour

Table 3

Odds ratio (ORs) of seeking medical advice in the next 12 months for covariates about concern and risk perception of osteoporosis.

	Number (%)	Unadjusted OR (95% CI)		Adjusted OR* (95% CI)
Concern about osteoporosis^#; (using a 3-point Likert scale)			<0.001		<0.001
Not at all concerned	160 (17.7)	1.00		1.00
Somewhat concerned	457 (28.0)	1.56 (1.26–1.91)		1.36 (1.08–1.71)
Very concerned	123 (39.9)	2.48 (1.84–3.35)		2.11 (1.50–2.96)
Perception of osteoporosis risk^#; (using a 5-point Likert scale)			<0.001		<0.001
Much lower	80 (14.9)	1.00		1.00
A little lower	169 (25.5)	1.67 (1.24–2.23)		1.54 (1.13–2.11)
About the same	310 (25.3)	1.72 (1.30–2.26)		1.61 (1.19–2.19)
A little higher	136 (43.2)	3.36 (2.39–4.73)		3.13 (2.13–4.59)
Much higher	41 (46.7)	3.45 (2.09–5.69)		2.71 (1.51–4.86)
Perception of fracture risk^#; (using a 5-point Likert scale)			<0.001		<0.001
Much lower	87 (15.5)	1.00		1.00
A little lower	196 (27.3)	1.79 (1.35–2.36)		1.60 (1.18–2.17)
About the same	344 (26.4)	1.69 (1.29–2.21)		1.66 (1.23–2.24)
A little higher	93 (44.9)	3.20 (2.21–4.62)		2.96 (1.94–4.52)
Much higher	24 (48.0)	3.60 (1.94–6.68)		2.43 (1.17–5.06)

Note: Each assessment was treated as an observation and lack of independence between assessments for the same women (clustering) was taken into account using generalized estimating equations.
^#Concern about osteoporosis (in thinking about your health, how concerned are you about osteoporosis?); perception of osteoporosis risk (how would you rate your own risk of “getting osteoporosis” compared to other women your age?); and perception of fracture risk (how would you rate your own risk of fracturing or breaking a bone compared to other women your age?).
*Adjusted for age, body mass index, private health insurance status, level of education, smoking, drinking, fracture since age 45 years, a maternal history of osteoporosis, history of fractured hip among parents, height loss since age 25 years (≥3 cms), weight loss (≥5 kgs) in the last year, self-reported health status, SF-36 physical score, seeking medical advice on osteoporosis in the previous year, and any prior bone mineral density testing.
^∧Test for trend by treating groups as an ordered (continuous) variable.