Unhealthy Mental States Are Positively Associated with Subjective Pain or Fatigue in Specific Body Sites among High School Teachers in Japan

Abstract

Unhealthy mental states have become common among teachers recently. Subjective physical symptoms are more likely to appear more readily than mental symptoms. In this study, we revealed that the relationship between mental states and subjective physical fatigue or pain in seven body sites among 2449 teachers. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to assess mental state. We defined a score of 4 points and over in the GHQ-12 score as unhealthy mental state. We also asked about the presence of subjective physical fatigue or pain in each seven body sites in the past one year. In the results, 30.3% unhealthy mental states were found in females and 22.9% in males. Most of subjective physical fatigue or pains were detected in neck and shoulder, eyes, head and low back. Using multivariate logistic regression, higher scores in the GHQ-12 were positively associated with presence of subjective fatigue or pain in head and eyes in both genders, in lower extremities among females, and in back, upper extremities among males. Our results suggest that physical symptoms in specific body sites with gender differences may be useful in the early identification of unhealthy mental states among teachers. We should have efforts to pay attention to mental states among high school teachers if their symptoms do not get better after taking physical care.