Characteristics of a Dysphonic Population Referred for Voice Assessment and/or Voice Therapy

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to define patient characteristics of a dysphonic population in terms of voice disorder, gender, age, and subjective and objective vocal parameters and to explore the relevant characteristics of the most frequent groups of voice disorders. Patients and Methods: Patient records from 4,447 subjects referred for voice assessment and/or voice therapy were analyzed. Results: Significantly more cases of dysphonia were structural as compared to nonstructural. This significant difference was found in almost all age groups. Significantly more women were diagnosed with dysphonia than men. The most common symptom was light-to-moderate hoarseness. The average voice handicap index was 31 and the average dysphonia severity index was -0.6. Vocal fold nodules (VFN), functional voice disorders (FVD) and vocal fold paralysis (VFP) were the three most frequently diagnosed vocal pathologies and were analyzed in detail. Women were found to be significantly more vulnerable to FVD, VFN and cysts, whereas men were significantly more often diagnosed with carcinoma, hyperkeratosis, laryngitis, papillomatosis, presbyphonia, puberphonia and VFP. Conclusions: The results of this study allow a better estimation of the clinical needs and costs for a specific dysphonic population looking for help and highlight the gender-related risks of specific voice disorders.

Description of patients consulting the voice clinic regarding gender, age, occupational status, and diagnosis

“…Several methods have been used for estimating the prevalence of voice problems, including estimations at the household level, based on questionnaires or telephone surveys [1], and at the healthcare provider service level [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. At the healthcare provider service level, various studies have attempted to identify the gender, age, diagnosis, occupational status and/or profession of patients who seek help for a voice disorder [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

“…At the healthcare provider service level, various studies have attempted to identify the gender, age, diagnosis, occupational status and/or profession of patients who seek help for a voice disorder [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

“…De Bodt et al characterized 4447 dysphonic patients referred for voice assessment and/or voice therapy in terms of gender, age, and diagnoses [10]. No information was reported on patients' occupational status and profession , but valuable information on their voice troubles was presented including subjective (voice handicap index and degree of hoarseness) and objective (dysphonia severity index) parameters.…”

“…Some studies addressed exclusively the workforce population [4,6], while others also included retirees and occupationally inactive people [5,11]. Several papers reported an exhaustive description of all patients who consulted for dysphonia [7,9,2,10,8]. However, differences in diagnostic categories and/or occupational status categories make comparisons difficult.…”

“…Overall, a higher prevalence of dysphonia is seen in women [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] as well as in the working, active, adult population [2,3,8,10]. Among workers, occupational voice users are particularly at risk [2,4,5].…”