Noise at school: any implications for teachers' health? Findings from the French CONSTANCES study

Abstract Background While noise at school is a well-known issue concerning students’ well-being, data on its potential effect on teachers’ health are limited. Methods Among teachers (n = 13,843) and a sample of non-education employees (n = 34,338) participating in the French CONSTANCES cohort (enrollment phase 2012-2020), we evaluated self-reported noise exposure at inclusion with the question “do you work in an environment where you sometimes have to raise your voice to talk to people 2 or 3 meters away?”(yes/no). First, we compared proportions of teachers who reported noise exposure to different groups of non-education employees. Second, among teachers, we cross-sectionally assessed, using logistic regressions adjusted for potential confounders, how combined exposure to occupational noise and work-related stress (defined alternately as effort-reward imbalance or tension with the public) was associated with two health indicators: self-perceived health (poor vs. good) and depressive symptoms (Centre of Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, sex-specific cut-points, high vs. low to moderate), respectively. Results Thirty-two percent of teachers declared working in a noisy environment compared to 14% among non-education employees included. Primary school teachers were particularly exposed (42.6%), in comparable proportions to manual workers (43.3%). Among teachers, noise alone was not significantly related to self-perceived health but slightly associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms. We further observed evidence of an interaction effect on depressive symptoms between noise and tension with the public. Conclusions This large study highlights that noise is a common occupational exposure among teachers in France. As it may interact with sense of physical insecurity to weight particularly on mental health, our results advocate for a better considering of such every day and long-term exposure on teachers’ health. Key messages • Noise is a common occupational exposure for French teachers. • As it may interact with work-related stress to affect mental health, noise at school should not be overlooked as an occupational hazard.