[Health conditions, lifestyles and occupational characteristics of teachers in a city in southern Brazil].

Various health complications have been identified among teachers and there is little information available about their lifestyle habits. The scope of this study was to investigate health conditions, lifestyles and occupational characteristics of municipal teachers in Bagé in the south of Brazil. A cross-sectional study involving 414 teachers was conducted by asking the teachers to fill out a standardized questionnaire. Descriptive and bivariate analysis techniques were employed. Most teachers were females (96.1%) and the mean age was 40.1 years (SD 9.4). Average teaching experience was 12.4 years (SD 9.5); 59% of the teachers had a degree; they taught many working hours per week (31.7 hours, SD 10.5) and 62% were absent from work at least once in the last 12 months. Self-rated heath was good (38.5%); 62.5% of them were physically active; 32.3% were overweight and 14.4% obese. They consumed hardly any fruit and vegetables (79.6%), had average stress levels of 14.9 points (SD 6.6) and 20.3% reported hypertension. Self-reported health was associated with teaching time, absenteeism, physical activity, number of meals per day, stress levels and hypertension. The prevalence of teachers who rated their health negatively was low, however several lifestyle issues were identified, which can be prejudicial to the health of these individuals.