Association of musculoskeletal pain with poor sleep quality in public school teachers

BACKGROUND: Teachers perform repetitive movements all day, which can cause pain in body regions. This article analyzes the association of pain with sleep quality in this population. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to analyze the relationship of musculoskeletal pain and sleep quality in teachers from public schools. METHODS: The sample consisted of 242 teachers, selected in a random process. Musculoskeletal pain and sleep quality were evaluated by using a questionnaire. The association between sleep quality and musculoskeletal pain was evaluated using the chi-square test. The magnitude of the associations was verified by Binary Logistic Regression, adjusted by sex, age, BMI, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Teachers with poor sleep quality presented higher body mass index (BMI) values when compared to teachers with good sleep quality (27.9 vs 26.0, p= 0.012). Teachers with poor sleep quality were approximately twice as likely to report thoracic pain (OR = 2.16[95%CI= 1.12-4.16] ), wrist pain (OR = 3.28[95%CI= 1.18-9.07] ), low back pain (OR = 3.09[95%CI= 1.29-7.41]), and ankle/foot pain (OR = 2.83 [95%CI = 1.32-6.08]). CONCLUSIONS: Teachers with poor sleep quality were approximately twice as likely to present pain in several body parts. Our findings revealed that poor sleep quality was significantly associated with musculoskeletal pain in Brazilian teachers of public schools, regardless of confounding factors.