Occupational noise, work-related stress, and teachers' health in the French CONSTANCES study

Besides psychosocial stressors, teachers are exposed to disturbing noise at work, such as students' irrelevant speech. Few studies have focused on this issue and its health consequences. We explored occupational noise exposure among teachers within the French workforce and analyzed how noise and work-related stress are related to their health.

The prevalence of perceived noise exposure, evaluated through the question "Do you work in an environment where you sometimes have to raise your voice to talk to people 2 to 3 m away?" was compared between teachers (n = 13,843) and various occupational groups (n = 34,338) using inclusion data (2012-2020) from the ongoing French population-based CONSTANCES cohort (>217,000 participants). Additionally, the relationships between perceived noise and two health dimensions, perceived health (poor vs. good) and depressive symptoms (Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, high vs. low/moderate), among teachers were alternately investigated using logistic regressions. Moreover, how perceived noise may interact with work-related stress (effort-reward imbalance/strained relationships) was explored.

Thirty-two percent of teachers reported working in a noisy environment, compared with 14% of noneducation employees (P < 0.001). Primary school teachers were the most likely to report noise exposure (43%). Independent of stress, teachers exposed to noise had poorer perceived health and higher odds of depressive symptoms than nonexposed teachers, with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 1.21 (1.07; 1.37) and 1.14 (1.01; 1.28), respectively. Evidence of an interaction between perceived noise and strained relationships was observed on perceived health (P = 0.05).

French teachers commonly reported disturbing noise at work, and those exposed showed poorer health indicators, particularly when facing strained relationships. The findings call for further studies on noise in schools, especially longitudinal studies, to ascertain its long-term effect on teachers' health and its potential interaction with the psychosocial environment.