Occurrence of occupational disease among basic education teachers in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Working conditions in teaching - encompassing physical, mental, and emotional demands - may overload psychophysiological functions.

To analyze the occurrence of self-reported diagnosis of occupational disease and associated factors among public basic-education teachers in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Cross-sectional epidemiological study using data from the follow-up phase of the longitudinal project titled "Health and working conditions of basic education teachers in the state of Minas Gerais" (ProfSMinas). The dependent variable was self-reported diagnosis of an occupational disease. Explanatory variables included sociodemographic characteristics, work and employment conditions, health status, and lifestyle factors. Binary logistic regression was employed to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95%CIs.

The prevalence of self-reported diagnosis of an occupational disease was 24.1% (95%CI 22.6%-25.6%). Positive associations were observed for age, student-perpetrated physical and/or verbal violence, job dissatisfaction, use of antidepressants and/or sedatives, sickness absence, and suspected voice disorders.

Multiple factors contribute to occupational illness among teachers, underscoring the need for ongoing studies to inform prevention and health-promotion strategies.