Table 1.
Patient demographics and prevalence of comorbidities.
| Variable | Diagnoses |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle tension dysphonia | Vocal fold paralysis | Benign vocal fold lesions | Laryngospasm/ irritable larynx |
Presbyphonia | |
| Number of patients | 174 | 102 | 160 | 68 | 54 |
| Patient demographics | |||||
| Age (SD) | 51.5 (17.8) | 58.7 (14.9) | 46.4 (14.9) | 48.4 (15.1) | 72.3 (10.6) |
| Sex (female/male) | 128/46 | 53/49 | 112/48 | 53/15 | 33/21 |
| Months since onset (SD) | 12.9 (16.1) | 12.2 (13) | 13.4 (4.8) | 22.4 (24.4) | 10 (11.8) |
| Work status (% employed) | 68.3% | 70.5% | 76.2% | 72.0% | 34.1% |
| Occupational voice users | 52.2% | 65.1% | 69.0% | 30.8% | 24.8% |
| Percentage of smokers | 23.5% | 32.3% | 35.2% | 35.1% | 35.2% |
| Percentage of patients reporting comorbidities | |||||
| Dyspnea | 10.3% | 11.7% | 9.3% | 48.5% | 12.3% |
| Dysphagia | 5.1% | 14.7% | 3.7% | 6.8% | 8.2% |
| Reflux (patient-reported) | 35.0% | 26.4% | 36.2% | 42.6% | 28.9% |
| Cough/throat clear | 13.7% | 10.7% | 15.6% | 47.0% | 10.4% |
| Allergies | 19.5% | 5.8% | 19.3% | 35.2% | 19.5% |
| Behavioral health | 8.0% | 4.9% | 4.0% | 25.0% | 8.1% |
| Patient-reported scale scores | |||||
| VHI (SD) | 31.9 (23.7) | 36.3 (10) | 41.3 (24.9) | 36.5 (20.0) | 53.4 (21.4) |
| GFI (SD) | 8.9 (5.2) | 8.4 (4.8) | 9.07 (5.5) | 9.41 (6.3) | 6.75 (5.1) |
| RSI (SD) | 15.4 (9.3) | 36.5 (23) | 12.3 (8.3) | 17.0 (15.1) | 11.8 (8.7) |
Note. VHI scores > 30 indicate moderate or severe voice-related impairment (Jacobson et al., 1997). GFI scores ≥ 4 indicate possible voice problem (Bach et al., 2005). RSI scores ≥ 12 indicate possible reflux (Belafsky et al., 2002). VHI = Voice Handicap Index; GFI = Glottal Function Index; RSI = Reflux Severity Index.