Perceived occupational stress and metabolic syndrome among school teachers in northern Peru: a cross-sectional study

Occupational stress may contribute to cardiometabolic dysregulation, but evidence linking perceived stress to metabolic syndrome (MetS) among school teachers remains limited, particularly in Latin America.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 40 teachers from two educational institutions in Trujillo, northern Peru. MetS was defined using harmonized criteria, and occupational stress was assessed with the Spanish ED-6 Teacher Stress Scale. Analyses included Fisher's exact test, Spearman correlations with Benjamini-Hochberg adjustment, and Firth penalized logistic regression using the standardized overall stress score as the primary exposure.

MetS was present in 53% of participants (95% CI: 38-67%). MetS prevalence did not differ significantly across empirical stress quintiles (p = 0.190). The overall stress score was not associated with MetS in the unadjusted model (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.54-1.85; p = 0.997) or after adjustment for age and sex (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.57-1.92; p = 0.897). Work-related pressure correlated positively with fasting glucose (ρ = 0.351; p = 0.027), and demotivation correlated inversely with triglycerides (ρ = -0.317; p = 0.046); however, neither association remained significant after multiplicity correction (q = 0.975).

Overall occupational stress was not associated with MetS in this sample. Larger multicenter and longitudinal studies are needed to estimate this relationship with greater precision.