CREAL. Centre for research in environmental epidemiology

Chalk causes respiratory problems in teachers

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

A scientific study shows a 6% prevalence of asthma, 25% of frequent symptoms in upper respiratory tract (SURT) and 50% of aphonia in school teachers during last year. It was also noted that certain conditions of use of chalk, such as shaking and/or frequently use the duster and/or use chalk more than three hours per day, are significantly associated with an increased of wheezing prevalence, frequent respiratory infections, SURT and aphonia.

On the other hand, they found that respiratory symptoms were less frequent in teachers that had worked at least 10 years in school. Jan Paul Zock, CREAL researcher and participant in this study led by Center for Research in Occupational Health (CiSAL), largely attributed to the known decrease of health problems with age. He does not rule out that some teachers with health problems must stop or change their school work.

"The detection of an increased risk of aphonia among teachers who used chalk over longer hours makes us think that this symptom traditionally attributed almost exclusively to the frequent use of voice, might have on the use of chalk, a factor additional risk that should be studied," says Jan Paul Zock.