Pulmonary functions and associated risk factors among school teachers in a selected Nigerian population

Objective. This study aimed to determine pulmonary functions and associated risk factors among school teachers. Methods. This cross-sectional ex-post facto study included 121 participants (20 males and 101 females). The setting for this study included 11 private schools and eight government schools. Participants were recruited using non-probability sampling techniques. Subjective data were collected using a self-administered asthma questionnaire. A spirometer was used for measuring pulmonary function values and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance for inferential statistics. The alpha level was set at 0.05. Results. Age, gender, duration of employment, type of school, school level taught, type of teaching board, working hours per day, previous occupation, usage of carpet and usage of rugs were significantly associated with the forced vital capacity prediction (p = 0.000, 0.010, 0.000, 0.032, 0.013, 0.000, 0.027, 0.000, 0.000 and 0.041, respectively). Also, the forced expiratory volume in 1 s and the peak expiratory flow were statistically different with alcohol consumption (p = 0.015) and place of residence (p = 0.004), respectively. Conclusion. Teachers using chalkboards are at increased risk of developing occupationally related pulmonary impairments. Hence, there is a need to shift from routine chalkboards to whiteboards.