Luchtwegproblematiek in het onderwijs

This report addresses respiratory health outcomes in the education sector, based on additional analyses of the 2024 Health Report of IDEWE Group. Data were derived from routine occupational health examinations conducted in 2024 and include 247,098 employees, of whom 8,603 were employed in the education sector. The analyses focused on chronic respiratory disorders, sickness absence due to respiratory diseases and respiratory infections, work-related respiratory symptoms, and associated occupational characteristics and exposure-related risk factors.

The findings indicate that the education sector has the highest proportion of employees undergoing treatment for chronic respiratory disease (15.2%) compared with other economic sectors. These treatments predominantly concern (allergic) rhinitis, sinusitis, and (allergic) asthma or chronic obstructive respiratory conditions. In addition, sickness absence due to respiratory infections is relatively high in the education sector (15.6%). Teachers, childcare workers, and laboratory and scientific technicians show a particularly elevated level of sickness absence attributable to respiratory infections.

Within the education sector, 17.7% of the employees included in the analysis were identified as having a chronic respiratory condition, while 12% reported recurrent work‑related respiratory symptoms associated with occupational exposure. Occupational groups such as vocational education teachers and kitchen assistants demonstrate the highest prevalence of chronic respiratory morbidity.