Introduction: Osteoporosis is a disease of bones and it has been associated with various risk factors such as female gender, advanced age and smoking habit. However, evidence has shown that the true figures between osteoporosis and smoking are conflicted. Aim: This study aimed to screen individuals for potential risk factors related to osteoporosis and to assess whether smoking is associated with the development of osteoporosis in a Primary care population aged 45 years and over. Materials and Methods: A screening program for osteoporosis was conducted in two Primary care settings on the island of Crete – Greece, during a 3-month period (April to June 2013). We studied 400 participants aged 45 years old and over for risk factors associated with osteoporosis development using the ONE Minute Osteoporosis Risk Test. Participants were screened for 19 risk-factors related to osteoporosis such as fracture, diagnosis of Thyroid, Alcohol Consumption and smoking with Yes/ No responses. Statistically, chi square and/or Variance analysis were used for the descriptive characteristics of the study participants and the significance of association among demographic characteristics. The method of variance analysis was applied to determine associations between risk factors and demographic characteristics. Bivariate associations were described using Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). P-values≤0.05 was considered significant using the SPSS version 21.0. Results: The mean age of participants (50% males) was 61.94 ± 11.6. Males smoked significantly more often (75.5% vs. 43%, p0.001) than females and, current smokers both females (OR=1.12; 95%CI: 0.25-1.99, p=0.012) and, males (OR=0.85; 95%CI: 0.10-1.59, p=0.027) were significantly more likely to report an increased number of risk-factors for osteoporosis compared to non/never smokers. We also found that obese participants were less likely to report an increased number of risk-factors (OR=-1.87; 95%CI: -3.54, -0.20, p=0.029) compared to the reference category suggesting that obesity was a protective factor for osteoporosis, but this association was significant only for males. Conclusion: Although a number of risk factors
did not differ among non-smokers, former and current smokers, current smokers had a greater likelihood of reporting a
number of risk-factors related to osteoporosis, suggesting that smoking is an important risk factor in the development of osteoporosis
development.