Association Between Socio-Political Stress, Perceived Stress, and Bruxism-Related Clinical Findings Among Iranian University Students Studying in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Students who study abroad frequently contend with several stressors at once—among them academic workload, adjustment to an unfamiliar cultural setting, and worries over political events unfolding in their home countries. Because psychological stress has been linked to bruxism, the present study set out to determine whether socio-political stress and perceived stress were associated with bruxism-related clinical findings among Iranian university students studying in Turkey. Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study included 113 Iranian university students. Socio-political stress was assessed using an eight-item researcher-developed module, and perceived stress was measured with the PSS-10. Bruxism-related clinical findings were evaluated by two blinded examiners using a predefined clinical composite. Associations were examined using correlation analyses and fully adjusted logistic regression. Results: Bruxism-related clinical findings were present in 63 participants (55.8%), with excellent inter-examiner agreement for the primary clinical composite (κ = 0.982). Socio-political stress was positively associated with perceived stress (Spearman’s rho = 0.339, 95% CI: 0.16–0.49, p < 0.001), but neither socio-political stress nor PSS-10 score was independently associated with bruxism-related clinical findings in the fully adjusted model. Older age (OR = 1.483, 95% CI: 1.203–1.828, p < 0.001) and moderate/high caffeine intake (OR = 4.12, 95% CI: 1.54–11.02, p = 0.005) were associated with higher odds of bruxism-related clinical findings. Conclusions: Socio-political stress was associated with perceived stress but not with bruxism-related clinical findings. Older age and moderate/high caffeine intake were associated with higher odds of these findings.