Benefits and Sources of Calcium & Vitamin D: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Assessing Patient Knowledge and Contributing Factors

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the general public’s knowledge of the benefits and sources of calcium and vitamin D dietary and supplemental intake and to identify any pertinent demographic characteristics that influence such knowledge. Methods: Participants were convenience sampled from Walmart locations in Safford, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona. Each participant completed a brief survey assessing their knowledge about the benefits and sources of calcium and vitamin D and optional questions regarding demographics. Results: 51 participants in Safford and 51 participants in Tucson completed the questionnaire. Of the 51 responders in Safford, 18 were men and 24 were women with a mean age of 49.52 (SD = 14.53, 80.49% white). Of the 51 responders in Tucson, 22 were men and 17 were women with a mean age of 50.97 (SD = 17.32, 71.79% white). Baseline demographics were equivalent. Statistical significant was observed when the mean total scores from Tucson and Safford were compared. On average, the participants in Tucson scored higher when compared to participants in Safford with mean scores of 55.5% and 49.0% respectively (p= 0.0412). Conclusions: Tucson participants scored statistically significantly higher when compared to Safford participants. This may be due to the health disparity between urban and rural populations. Gender, ethnicity, supplement use, personal or family history of osteoporosis, and education level did not appear to affect response scores on the questionnaire.