Vocal Parameters and Voice-Related Quality of Life in Adult Women With and Without Ovarian Function

• Published in: Journal of voice Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 355 - 360
• Main Authors: Ferraz, Pablo Rodrigo Rocha, Bertoldo, Simão Veras, Costa, Luanne Gabrielle Morais, Serra, Emmeliny Cristini Nogueira, Silva, Eduardo Magalhães, Brito, Luciane Maria Oliveira, Chein, Maria Bethânia da Costa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Mosby, Inc 01-05-2013; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Acoustic voice analysis; Acoustics; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Medical Disorders; Menopause; Middle Aged; Otolaryngology; Ovary - physiology; Perceptual voice analysis; Pitch (Acoustics); Quality of Life; Self Concept; Sound Spectrography; Speech Acoustics; Speech Perception; Speech-Language Pathology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Voice; Voice Disorders - diagnosis; Voice Disorders - etiology; Voice Disorders - physiopathology; Voice Quality; Volume; Women; Young Adult; Acoustic voice analysis; Perceptual voice analysis; Voice; Menopause; Quality of life
• ISSN: 0892-1997; 1873-4588
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.10.013

Summary Objectives To identify the perceptual and acoustic parameters of voice in adult women with and without ovarian function and its impact on quality of life related to voice. Methods Cross-sectional and analytical study with 106 women divided into, two groups: G1, with ovarian function (n = 43) and G2, without physiological ovarian function (n = 63). The women were instructed to sustain the vowel “a” and the sounds of /s/ and /z/ in habitual pitch and loudness. They were also asked to classify their voices and answer the voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) questionnaire. The perceptual analysis of the vocal samples was performed by three speech-language pathologists using the GRBASI (G: grade; R: roughness; B: breathness; A: asthenia; S: strain; I: instability) scale. The acoustic analysis was carried out with the software VoxMetria 2.7h (CTS Informatica). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results In the perceptual analysis, both groups showed a mild deviation for the parameters roughness, strain, and instability, but only G2 showed a mild impact for the overall degree of dysphonia. The mean of fundamental frequency was significantly lower for the G2, with a difference of 17.41 Hz between the two groups. There was no impact on V-RQOL in any of the V-RQOL domains for this group. Conclusions With the menopause, there is a change in women's voices, impacting on some voice parameters. However, there is no direct impact on their quality of life related to voice.