Hospitalizations among teachers in Denmark, 1981-1997

It is a common notion that teachers constitute a group at high risk of occupational stress, but the potential health consequences of the assumed high stress levels are still poorly illuminated. The aim of the present study was to investigate morbidity among Danish teachers. Cohorts of Danish teachers of primary, secondary and vocational schools, aged 20-59 years in 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1994, were formed to calculate age standardized hospitalization ratios (SHRs) and time trends (1981-1997) for a large variety of diagostic aggregations. Statistically significantly low SHRs for the major disease categories: neoplasms, diseases of the nervous, circulatory, respiratory. digestive and musculoskeletal systems were found both for men and women. We also found significantly low SHRs for the aggregated diagnostic group "injury and poisoning" in men and for diseases of the nervous system and sense organs in women. Age standardized hospitalization rates with respect to diseases observed in practically all systems and organs of the body were statistically significantly lower among teachers compared with other economically active people of Denmark.