Background
Methods
Location and background
Questionnaire design
Statistical analysis
Results
Participant demographics
Characteristics | Primary school teachers | Junior secondary school teachers | Senior secondary school teachers | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | |
Gender | ||||
Male | 17.0 | 39.2 | 48.2 | 27.3 |
Female | 83.0 | 60.8 | 51.8 | 72.7 |
Age (years) | ||||
≤30 | 15.6 | 34.3 | 10.2 | 21.1 |
31-40 | 29.5 | 49.4 | 53.6 | 38.3 |
41-50 | 40.4 | 14.1 | 31.7 | 31.0 |
>50 | 14.5 | 2.2 | 5.4 | 9.6 |
Body mass index | ||||
<18.5 | 5.0 | 7.1 | 3.7 | 5.6 |
18-24.9 | 35.7 | 51.9 | 43.7 | 42.1 |
25-29.9 | 29.3 | 25.1 | 34.8 | 28.5 |
≥30 | 30.0 | 15.9 | 17.8 | 23.9 |
Marital status | ||||
Single | 53.8 | 54.7 | 42.4 | 53.0 |
Married | 38.7 | 42.8 | 50.6 | 41.2 |
Separated/divorced/widowed | 7.5 | 2.5 | 7.1 | 5.8 |
Education level | ||||
Certificate | 9.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 5.4 |
Diploma | 71.7 | 53.1 | 0.6 | 58.7 |
Bachelors’ degree | 19.1 | 46.7 | 98.8 | 35.9 |
Number of children less than 6 years | ||||
1 | 73.9 | 72.5 | 73.0 | 73.2 |
≥2 | 26.1 | 27.5 | 27.0 | 26.8 |
Hours of physical exercise per week (hours) | ||||
≤5 | 89.5 | 84.3 | 84.6 | 87.2 |
>5 | 10.5 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 12.8 |
Length of employment (years) | ||||
≤10 | 38.0 | 68.9 | 42.9 | 48.4 |
11-20 | 34.0 | 28.3 | 47.1 | 33.4 |
21-30 | 24.1 | 2.5 | 8.8 | 15.6 |
>30 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.5 |
Work hours per week (hours) | ||||
40 | 88.8 | 85.7 | 83.5 | 87.3 |
>40 | 11.2 | 14.3 | 16.5 | 12.7 |
Number of students taught on average | ||||
≤25 | 5.2 | 25.8 | 9.4 | 12.2 |
26-30 | 20.4 | 8.1 | 4.7 | 14.9 |
31-35 | 39.4 | 11.3 | 15.3 | 27.9 |
36-40 | 32.6 | 32.6 | 55.9 | 34.9 |
>40 | 2.4 | 22.4 | 14.7 | 10.0 |
Extracurricular activities | ||||
No | 22.6 | 45.8 | 55.9 | 33.4 |
Yes | 77.4 | 54.2 | 44.1 | 66.6 |
Characteristics | Male (n = 472) | Female (n = 1260) | Total (n = 1732) |
P value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Age | 36.29 ± 7.02 | 39.34 ± 9.02 | 38.50 ± 8.62 |
<0.001
|
Body mass index | 24.75 ± 5.78 | 27.55 ± 7.00 | 26.65 ± 6.76 |
<0.001
|
Length of employment | 10.14 ± 6.31 | 13.36 ± 8.82 | 12.48 ± 8.34 |
<0.001
|
Cigarettes/day | 5.88 ± 4.78 | 2.80 ± 1.64 | 5.59 ± 4.68 | 0.163 |
Marital status |
0.004
| |||
Single | 58.7 | 50.9 | 53.0 | |
Married | 37.5 | 42.5 | 41.2 | |
Separated/divorced/widowed | 3.8 | 6.6 | 5.8 | |
Educational level |
<0.001
| |||
Certificate | 1.7 | 6.8 | 5.4 | |
Diploma | 54.9 | 60.2 | 58.7 | |
Bachelor degree | 43.4 | 33.0 | 35.9 | |
Number of children less than 6 years | 0.210 | |||
1 | 70.3 | 74.9 | 73.2 | |
≥2 | 29.7 | 25.1 | 26.8 | |
Smoking |
<0.001
| |||
Smokers | 10.8 | 0.4 | 3.2 | |
Ex-smokers | 13.6 | 2.1 | 5.3 | |
Never smoked | 75.6 | 97.5 | 91.5 | |
Physical exercise per week >5 hours | 18.1 | 10.4 | 12.8 |
<0.001
|
School level |
<0.001
| |||
Primary school | 36.2 | 66.0 | 57.9 | |
Junior secondary | 46.4 | 27.0 | 32.3 | |
Senior secondary | 17.4 | 7.0 | 9.8 | |
Work hours per week >40 hours | 14.6 | 12.0 | 12.7 | 0.166 |
Number of students >40 | 11.4 | 9.5 | 10.0 |
<0.001
|
Involved in extracurricular activities | 69.9 | 65.4 | 66.6 | 0.086 |
LBP prevalence
Risk factorsa
| % with LBP |
P value |
---|---|---|
Gender |
<0.001
| |
Male | 47.7 | |
Female | 58.7 | |
Age (years) | 0.356 | |
≤30 | 53.5 | |
31-40 | 54.5 | |
41-50 | 58.9 | |
>50 | 56.4 | |
Body mass index | 0.673 | |
<18.5 | 50.7 | |
18-24.9 | 54.1 | |
25-29.9 | 56.5 | |
≥30 | 57.2 | |
Marital status | 0.220 | |
Single | 53.7 | |
Married | 57.9 | |
Separated/divorced/widowed | 57.4 | |
Education level | 0.515 | |
Certificate | 51.1 | |
Diploma | 55.3 | |
Bachelor’s degree | 57.0 | |
Number of children <6 years | 0.562 | |
1 | 55.2 | |
≥2 | 58.1 | |
Previous injury |
<0.001
| |
No | 51.7 | |
Yes | 91.8 | |
Tobacco smoking | 0.120 | |
Smokers | 42.9 | |
Ex-smokers | 52.7 | |
Never smoked | 56.3 | |
Regular physical exercise (hours per week) |
0.024
| |
≤5 | 57.6 | |
>5 | 47.2 | |
School level | 0.176 | |
Primary school | 57.5 | |
Junior secondary school | 52.8 | |
Senior secondary school | 54.1 | |
Length of employment (years) | 0.307 | |
≤10 | 53.8 | |
11-20 | 56.1 | |
21-30 | 60.1 | |
>30 | 58.1 | |
Hours of work per week |
0.002
| |
40 | 54.2 | |
>40 | 65.5 | |
Average number of students taught | 0.591 | |
≤25 | 51.4 | |
26-30 | 57.0 | |
31-35 | 57.9 | |
36-40 | 55.0 | |
>40 | 55.2 | |
Extracurricular activities | 0.623 | |
No | 56.6 | |
Yes | 55.2 |
Risk factorsa
| % with LBP |
P value |
---|---|---|
Much physical effort |
0.012
| |
No | 51.3 | |
Yes | 58.5 | |
Lift heavy loads | 0.832 | |
No | 55.4 | |
Yes | 57.3 | |
Rapid physical activity |
<0.001
| |
No | 51.2 | |
Yes | 62.2 | |
Awkward body position |
<0.001
| |
No | 52.2 | |
Yes | 64.6 | |
Awkward arm position |
<0.001
| |
No | 51.4 | |
Yes | 66.9 | |
Decision latitude | 0.275 | |
No | 59.7 | |
Yes | 54.7 | |
Psychosocial job demands |
0.015
| |
Low | 48.9 | |
High | 57.4 | |
Job insecurity | 0.388 | |
Low | 54.9 | |
High | 58.3 | |
Co-worker support | 0.105 | |
Low | 60.9 | |
High | 54.7 | |
Supervisor support | 0.394 | |
Low | 58.1 | |
High | 54.6 | |
Social support | 0.897 | |
Low | 56.9 | |
High | 55.5 | |
Job dissatisfaction |
0.017
| |
Low | 51.7 | |
High | 58.6 |
Risk factors for LBP
Risk factorsa
| Logistic OR(95% CI) | Corrected OR (95% CI) |
P value |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | |||
Male | 1 | 1 | |
Female | 1.51 (1.14-2.00) | 1.42 (1.12-1.77) |
0.004
|
Age (years) | |||
≤30 | 1 | 1 | |
31-40 | 1.25 (0.89-1.75) | - | 0.203 |
41-50 | 1.56 (1.08-2.24) | 1.47 (1.07-1.97) |
0.017
|
>50 | 1.46 (0.83-2.55) | - | 0.185 |
Previous injury | |||
No | 1 | 1 | |
Yes | 9.67 (4.94-18.93) | 1.92 (1.74-2.02) |
0.001
|
Hours of physical exercise per week (h) | |||
≤5 | 1 | 1 | |
>5 | 0.63 (0.43-0.93) | 0.64 (0.45-0.93) |
0.021
|
Much physical effort | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.10 (0.81-1.49) | - | 0.539 |
Rapid physical activity | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.12 (0.82-1.53) | - | 0.475 |
Awkward body position | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.09 (0.75-1.59) | - | 0.649 |
Awkward arm position | |||
No | 1 | 1 | |
Yes | 1.81 (1.24-2.62) | 1.39 (1.14-1.63) |
0.002
|
Psychosocial job demands | |||
Low | 1 | 1 | |
High | 1.40 (1.02-1.93) | 1.34 (1.02-1.76) |
0.040
|
Job dissatisfaction | |||
Low | 1 | ||
High | 1.23(0.95-1.60) | - | 0.119 |
LBP disability
Risk factors for LBP disability
Risk factorsa
| Minimal disability | Moderate/severe disability/crippled | Total |
P value |
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | ||
Gender |
<0.001
| |||
Male | 27.7 | 14.5 | 23.3 | |
Female | 72.3 | 85.5 | 76.7 | |
Age |
<0.001
| |||
≤30 | 23.5 | 13.3 | 20.2 | |
31-40 | 38.4 | 35.3 | 37.4 | |
41-50 | 29.1 | 40.1 | 32.7 | |
>50 | 9.0 | 11.3 | 9.7 | |
Body mass index |
<0.001
| |||
<18.5 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 5.1 | |
18-24.9 | 46.3 | 30.3 | 41.1 | |
25-29.9 | 27.2 | 33.0 | 29.1 | |
≥30 | 21.0 | 32.6 | 24.7 | |
Marital status | 0.337 | |||
Single | 52.7 | 47.9 | 51.1 | |
Married | 41.7 | 45.1 | 42.8 | |
Separated/divorced/widowed | 5.6 | 6.9 | 6.0 | |
Educational level |
<0.001
| |||
Certificate | 3.7 | 7.6 | 5.0 | |
Diploma | 55.5 | 64.0 | 58.3 | |
Bachelors’ degree | 40.8 | 28.4 | 36.7 | |
Number of children less than 6 years | 1.000 | |||
1 | 72.3 | 71.8 | 72.2 | |
≥2 | 27.7 | 28.2 | 27.8 | |
Previous injury |
<0.001
| |||
No | 88.3 | 74.4 | 83.7 | |
Yes | 11.7 | 25.6 | 16.3 | |
Tobacco smoking |
0.022
| |||
Never smoked | 91.0 | 95.6 | 92.5 | |
Ex-smokers | 6.2 | 2.5 | 5.0 | |
Current Smokers | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.5 | |
Hours of physical exercise per week (h) | 0.700 | |||
≤5 | 88.8 | 90.1 | 89.2 | |
>5 | 11.2 | 9.9 | 10.8 | |
School level |
<0.001
| |||
Primary school | 55.0 | 69.7 | 59.9 | |
Junior secondary | 33.2 | 25.2 | 30.6 | |
Senior secondary | 11.7 | 5.0 | 9.5 | |
Length of employment (years) |
0.001
| |||
≤10 | 50.9 | 38.5 | 46.8 | |
11-20 | 32.0 | 37.2 | 33.7 | |
21-30 | 15.3 | 20.2 | 16.9 | |
>30 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 2.6 | |
Working hours per week (hours) | 1.000 | |||
40 | 85.0 | 85.2 | 85.1 | |
>40 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 14.9 | |
Number of children taught | 0.060 | |||
≤25 | 12.8 | 8.2 | 11.3 | |
26-30 | 15.5 | 14.8 | 15.2 | |
31-35 | 28.3 | 30.6 | 29.0 | |
36-40 | 32.5 | 38.5 | 34.4 | |
>40 | 11.0 | 7.9 | 10.0 | |
Extracurricular activities | 0.309 | |||
No | 35.1 | 33.9 | 33.9 | |
Yes | 64.9 | 68.5 | 66.1 |
Risk factorsa
| Minimal disability | Moderate/severe disability/crippled | Total |
P value |
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | ||
Much physical effort |
<0.001
| |||
No | 41.4 | 26.8 | 36.6 | |
Yes | 58.6 | 73.2 | 63.4 | |
Lift heavy loads |
0.030
| |||
No | 85.4 | 79.6 | 83.5 | |
Yes | 14.6 | 20.4 | 16.5 | |
Rapid physical activity |
<0.001
| |||
No | 59.9 | 43.9 | 54.6 | |
Yes | 40.1 | 56.1 | 45.4 | |
Awkward body position |
<0.001
| |||
No | 71.9 | 58.9 | 67.6 | |
Yes | 28.1 | 41.1 | 32.4 | |
Awkward arm position |
<0.001
| |||
No | 71.2 | 58.3 | 66.9 | |
Yes | 28.8 | 41.7 | 33.1 |
Risk factorsa
| Minimal disability | Moderate/severe disability/crippled | Total |
P value |
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | ||
Decision latitude | 0.541 | |||
Low | 19.3 | 17.5 | 18.7 | |
High | 80.7 | 82.5 | 81.3 | |
Psychosocial job demands |
0.040
| |||
Low | 20.3 | 14.6 | 18.4 | |
High | 79.7 | 85.4 | 81.6 | |
Job insecurity |
0.010
| |||
Low | 76.9 | 68.8 | 74.2 | |
High | 23.1 | 31.2 | 25.8 | |
Co-worker support | 0.071 | |||
Low | 17.8 | 22.9 | 19.5 | |
High | 82.2 | 77.1 | 80.5 | |
Supervisor support |
0.037
| |||
Low | 30.3 | 37.3 | 32.6 | |
High | 69.7 | 62.7 | 67.4 | |
Social support | 0.128 | |||
Low | 13.8 | 17.8 | 15.2 | |
High | 86.2 | 82.2 | 84.8 | |
Job dissatisfaction | 0.069 | |||
Low | 42.2 | 35.8 | 40.1 | |
High | 57.8 | 64.2 | 59.9 |
Risk factorsa
| Odds ratio (OR) | 95% CI confidence intervals (95% CI) |
P value |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | |||
Male | 1 | ||
Female | 2.47 | 1.52-3.99 |
<0.001
|
Age (years) | |||
≤30 | 1 | ||
31-40 | 1.39 | 0.77-2.51 | 0.280 |
41-50 | 1.53 | 0.74-3.20 | 0.255 |
>50 | 1.03 | 0.39-2.73 | 0.954 |
Body mass index | |||
<18.5 | 1 | ||
18.5-24.9 | 1.19 | 0.49-2.88 | 0.707 |
25.0-29.9 | 1.63 | 0.66-4.00 | 0.291 |
≥30 | 1.80 | 0.72-4.49 | 0.208 |
Education level | |||
Certificate | 1 | ||
Diploma | 0.88 | 0.39-2.02 | 0.769 |
Bachelor degree | 0.53 | 0.22-1.29 | 0.160 |
Previous injury | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 3.01 | 1.92-4.74 |
<0.001
|
Tobacco smoking | |||
Never smoked | 1 | ||
Ex-smoker | 0.36 | 0.13-1.02 | 0.054 |
Current smoker | 1.64 | 0.53-5.09 | 0.393 |
School level | |||
Primary school | 1 | ||
Junior secondary | 0.99 | 0.63-1.57 | 0.974 |
Senior secondary | 0.83 | 0.38-1.85 | 0.656 |
Length of employment (years) | |||
≥10 | 1 | ||
11-20 | 1.20 | 0.73-1.97 | 0.484 |
21-30 | 1.18 | 0.59-2.36 | 0.631 |
>30 | 1.22 | 0.35-4.34 | 0.755 |
Much physical effort | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.31 | 0.82-2.07 | 0.256 |
Lifting heavy loads | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 0.93 | 0.56-1.55 | 0.776 |
Rapid physical activity | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.31 | 0.85-2.03 | 0.220 |
Awkward body position | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.06 | 0.65-1.72 | 0.811 |
Awkward arm position | |||
No | 1 | ||
Yes | 1.57 | 0.98-2.51 | 0.062 |
Psychosocial job demands | |||
Low | 1 | ||
High | 1.31 | 0.79-2.17 | 0.295 |
Job insecurity | |||
Low | 1 | ||
High | 1.31 | 0.86-1.98 | 0.211 |
Supervisor support | |||
Low | 1 | ||
High | 0.74 | 0.50-1.09 | 0.123 |