title: Factors associated with preoperative anxiety levels of Turkish surgical patients: from a single center in Ankara.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preoperative anxiety and stress are undoubtedly a difficult experience in patients undergoing elective surgery. These unpleasant sensations depend on several factors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preoperative anxiety levels in a sample of Turkish population, as well as the underlying causes using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI anxiety) scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local ethical committee. All participants gave written informed consent upon having received detailed information on the study. Upon entry in the study, state and trait anxiety questionnaires were completed by 186 patients scheduled for elective surgery. The influencing factors in regard to age, sex, educational status and others were also reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant positive correlation between state and trait anxiety scores in this Turkish population. While the most important predictive factors that affected state-STAI scores were age, sex and duration of sleep the night before surgery; educational status and age were the best predictors for determining the variation in trait-STAI scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The factors affecting anxiety levels in different populations might vary among different countries. Interestingly, in this sample of Turkish population, the trait anxiety levels were found to be higher from state-anxiety levels, especially in women and less educated people. Thus, doubts about operation and anesthesia are overlooked. This could be attributed to the low to intermediate life standards of people admitted to our hospital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ezgi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Erkilic
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elvin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kesimci
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soykut
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cihan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doger
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tülin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gumus
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kanbak
keywords: preoperative; state and trait anxiety