Self-reported voice disorders of teachers and indoor air quality in schools: a cross-sectional study in Finland

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to study the association between self-reported voice disorders among teachers and indoor air quality in school buildings.

Methods

We performed a questionnaire study of 538 Finnish teachers working in 67 school buildings utilizing both perceived and technical evaluations; the agreement between these two assessments was also studied. The technical assessment was provided by technical experts.

Results

Teachers with voice disorders reported significantly more complaints from indoor air than those without voice disorders. The results also indicated a possible connection between the technical assessment and voice disorders. After adjustment for sex, stress and asthma, the prevalence of voice disorders was 47% higher in teachers working in renovated buildings compared to those working in the non-problem buildings (aRR1.47; CI 95% 1.11–1.95). The prevalence of voice disorders was 28% higher among teachers working in buildings with problems compared to those working in non-problem buildings (aRR 1.28; 95% CI 0.99–1.64).

Discussion

In our study, poor perceived indoor air was significantly associated with self-reported voice disorders in teachers and there was an agreement between the perceived and technical assessments. Our results also indicated a possible connection between the technical assessment and voice disorders. Our results imply the need for longitudinal research with technical assessment to study the effect of renovation on voice disorders.

Keywords:

• Voice disorder
• teacher
• school building
• work environment
• indoor air
• technical assessment
• perceived
• complaints

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank professor Emerita Susanna Simberg and professor Emeritus Pertti Järvinen for their valuable comments on the draft, and Elizabeth Nyman M.A. for providing language help. We would also like to thank the city where the study was carried out for their excellent cooperation, especially the teachers who participated in this research.

Disclosure statement

In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that I have received funding from the Finnish Work Environment Fund under Grants 180134 and 117439 and the Juho Vainio Foundation [no grant number available] without any involvement in the study. TP has financial and business interests in IndoorAid Ltd and Orion Pharma Ltd., also without any involvement in the study. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Juho Vainion Säätiö;Työsuojelurahasto.

Notes on contributors

Hanna Vertanen-Greis

Hanna Vertanen-Greis, MA, MSc, is a PhD candidate at the medical faculty of the University of Turku. Her ongoing study focuses on teachers' voice problems, work ability, and the work environment. Previously, Ms. Vertanen-Greis was a music instructor and graduated from the Sibelius Academy and the University of Helsinki. Apart from a strong musical education, she studied logopedics as well as educational sciences and administration.

Eliisa Löyttyniemi

Eliisa Löyttyniemi, MSc, is a biostatistician, who worked for several pharmaceutical companies between 1993–2010, and then continued working in a company that developed neonatal and newborn screening technologies. From 2013, she has worked at the University of Turku where she is responsible for analyzing the research data and teaching of medical students.

Jukka Uitti

Jukka Uitti, MD, PhD, is a professor emeritus of Occupational Health Care and Occupational Medicine at the University of Tampere. He also worked as the chief physician at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. He is qualified as a specialist in Occupational Health Care and in occupational medicine. He was awarded the title of docent at the University of Tampere in 2004. His research areas are, inter alia, epidemiology, occupational medicine, and asthma.

Tuula Putus

Tuula Putus, MD, PhD, is a professor of Occupational Health and Environmental Medicine at the University of Turku. She is qualified as a specialist in occupational medicine. She was awarded the title of docent at the University of Kuopio in 2010. Her research areas are, inter alia, occupational health and medicine, environmental medicine, and indoor air.