Methods: The target population included 15 to 64 year-old adults (n=21039) reached to by a randomized clustered sampling within all 22 districts of Tehran city in 2012 during URBAN HEART survey by Municipality of Tehran. Anxiety among the population was measured by 7 questions of anxiety domain of GHQ-28 questionnaire. A sum variable of anxiety was calculated for each person, later dichotomized as being normal or disordered according to Goldberg classification. Frequency of tooth brushing was inquired as an indicator of oral health behavior and age and gender as demographic features. Chi-square test and Linear regression were applied by SPSS version 20 software for statistical analysis.
Results: The questionnaires were completed by 20105 individuals (response rate 95%) in all districts of Tehran. The mean age of the study group was 39.1 (SD=13.0) and 45% were men. The sum for anxiety ranged between 0 and 7 with a mean of 1.6 (SD=2.1). As regards to anxiety level, 63% of the population were categorized as normal and the others as disordered. Females and older adults revealed more anxiety than others (P<0.001). Tooth brushing on a daily basis was more frequent among females, younger, and normal adults in comparison to males, older and anxious ones (P<0.001).
Conclusions: Females and older age groups of society are more susceptible to mental health disorders, such as anxiety, which might influence on their health behaviors and must be tackled with to achieve better oral health outcomes among the population.