Incidence and nature of functional voice disorders.
Yusra M Bhaila, Jeannie Van der Linde, Carmen Milton and 1 others
PMID 41405065WHAT IT FOUND
At a South African voice clinic, 86 of 516 adults had a functional voice disorder.
Muscle tension dysphonia, hoarseness, high voice handicap scores and reflux were common. Occupational and non-occupational voice users were similar on the comparisons made.
Key findings
01Of 516 patients who attended the voice clinic, 86 were diagnosed with a functional voice disorder.
02Muscle tension dysphonia was the most common primary diagnosis, with 69 of 86 patients affected.
03All 86 patients were referred from the ENT specialist to a speech-language pathologist for voice therapy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The findings come from one private interdisciplinary voice clinic in South Africa, so they may not apply to public clinics or other populations. The incidence figure comes from patients who already attended one voice clinic, not from a general population sample. The study reviewed records and did not follow patients through treatment, so it does not show what happened after voice therapy. Acoustic measures may have been less valid in patients with severe dysphonia or single irregularities. Perceptual voice ratings were made by one clinician, and inter-rater reliability was not assessed. Lifestyle factors were self-reported, so answers may have been affected by social desirability bias. The study did not explore socioeconomic factors that could influence results. The study notes that larger samples and more settings are needed to understand incidence better.
Declared interests
The paper states that the research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 16.67% figure as the incidence of functional voice disorders in South Africa. It is 86 of 516 patients who already attended one private voice clinic, and the paper reports no treatment outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →