Association of Psychosocial Work Factors and Psychological Distress With Voice Disorders Among Secondary School Teachers

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence, lifetime prevalence of voice disorders, and its association with psychosocial work factors and psychological distress among secondary school teachers.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

METHODS: Secondary data from the CLUSTer study were analyzed, which included sociodemographics, psychosocial work factors (Job Content Questionnaire-22), psychological distress (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21), and outcome measure of voice (Voice Handicap Index-10).

RESULTS: A total of 1216 teachers were included in this study. Majority of them were females (81.0%), of Malays ethnicity (63.9%), and were married (83.3%). Almost one-third of the participants experienced high occupational stress. Less than one-third of them were having depression (27.9%) and stress (21.8%). More than half had anxiety (53.9%). The prevalence of voice disorders was 11.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.9, 14.1], and the lifetime prevalence of voice disorders was 52.4% (95% CI: 48.8, 56.0). Participants with depression (aOR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.48, 4.22), anxiety (aOR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.05, 4.13), and stress (aOR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.11, 3.40) were associated with voice disorders. Psychosocial work factors such as occupational stress, supervisor support, and coworker support were not associated with voice disorders.

CONCLUSION: Psychological distress is associated with the prevalence of voice disorders among secondary school teachers. These findings can be utilized in developing, designing, and implementing interventions or programs to reduce voice disorders for school teachers.