Abstract
Background: Considering the renewed emphasis on women’s
health, attention to the new aspects of their health, such as equity, among
different groups is warranted. The aim of this study was to investigate the
economic inequalities among women with osteoporosis-related bone fractures
(ORBFs) in Sanandaj, Iran.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, convenient sampling
was employed to recruit 220 women with osteoporosis referring to the only
rheumatology clinic in Sanandaj (the center of Kurdistan province in Iran) from
January to April 2013. Main outcome was the history of fractures due to
osteoporosis. Concentration index decomposition (CID) and logistic regression
were used for data analysis.
Results: In multivariate logistic analysis, the fourth and
fifth quintiles of family economic status were found to be significantly
associated with ORBFs. Risk difference and confidence interval (CI) for the
relation between the history of bone fracture and family economic status was
-0.115 (95% CI: -0.209, -0.021; P = 0.016), which reflected the higher
prevalence of bone fractures among women with the lower economic levels. About
25% out of all ORBFs were happened among 20% of the women with low economic
status.
Conclusion: It was concluded that economic status plays an
important role in happening ORBFs among underprivileged women. A reorientation
on women’s health care services in Iran with a focus on underprivileged
postmenopausal women seems to be necessary. There is a need for inter-sectoral
coalition between the policymakers of the health system and those of other
organizations to reduce the economic inequalities among osteoporotic women.