Does Body Mass Index Interfere in the Formation of Speech Formants?

Abstract

Introduction Studies in the fields of voice and speech have increasingly focused on the vocal tract and the importance of its structural integrity, and changes in the anatomy and configuration of the vocal tract determine the variations in phonatory and acoustic measurements, especially in the formation of the formants (Fs). Recent studies have revealed the functional consequences arising from being overweight and having an accumulation of fat in the pharyngeal region, including obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and impacts on the voice. Objectives To assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and analysis of the speech. Methods This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (no. 288,430). The cohort consisted of 124 individuals aged between 18 and 45 with full permanent dentition and selected randomly. The participants underwent a brief medical history taking, BMI assessments and recording emissions of the sustained vowels /a/, /ε/, /i/, and /u/ by acoustic program PRAAT (v. 5.3.85, Boersma and Weenink, Amsterdam, Netherlands). Recordings were taken using a unidirectional microphone headset (model Karsect HT-9, Guangdong, China), with a condenser connected to an external sound card (USB-SA 2.0, model Andrea, PureAudio™, Pleasant Grove, UT, USA), to reduce noise. Results There was a significant correlation between BMI and formant 3 (F3) vowel /a/; however, there was a low degree of correlation intensity. Conclusions We did not observe a correlation between the BMI and the speech formants, but we believe there is a trend in this correlation that leads to changes in speech patterns with increases in BMI.

Acoustic features as novel predictors of difficult laryngoscopy in orthognathic surgery: an observational study

“…Furthermore, to eliminate the effect of additional confounding factors, patients with a history of cleft palate, craniofacial syndromes, or craniofacial trauma were excluded from our study, as well as those who had previously undergone oral and maxillofacial surgeries. Second, different speech features have been reported to be correlated with age, sex, height, and weight, and have also been linked to anatomical and physiological changes in the speech production system (27)(28)(29). Most patients in our study were young and healthy adults who wished to improve their facial appearance via orthognathic surgery.…”

Pre‐operative voice evaluation as a hypothetical predictor of difficult laryngoscopy

“…The frequency of each voice formant is determined by the area of a specific segment of the vocal tract . The first formant (F1) occurs in the posterior cavity of the mouth and is related to the opening of the mandible and mouth and to the height of the tongue in the oral cavity; the second one (F2) is located in the anterior part of the oral cavity and is related to the anterior–posterior displacement of the tongue; the third formant (F3) is related to the cavity behind the tongue constriction and the one in front of it – pharyngeal cavity and anterior cavity; and the fourth formant (F4) is probably related to the length of the laryngeal tube . Therefore, the formant frequencies of the human voice may provide information on the anatomy of the patient's upper airway as well as the degree of difficulty involved in its manipulation.…”