The Prevalence of Creak Across Breath Groups in Adductor Laryngeal Dystonia.
Katherine L Marks, Saul A Frankford, Sarah J Cocroft and 3 others
PMID 39567268WHAT IT FOUND
Speakers with adductor laryngeal dystonia produced creaky voice on 22% of phonemes, compared to 5% in controls.
While both groups creaked more near the end of a breath, those with dystonia creaked throughout the phrase, not just at the end.
Key findings
01Creak occurred significantly more often in the dystonia group than in controls.
02Creak prevalence increased near breath pauses in both groups, but the effect was stronger in controls.
03The longer pauses seen in the dystonia group were explained by slower speaking rates, not by the disorder itself.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was a secondary analysis of a small dataset, limiting generalizability. Breath groups were estimated from audio pauses rather than measured with respiratory sensors, which introduces potential error. The analysis did not include speakers with muscle tension dysphonia, so it does not confirm how well creak distinguishes dystonia from other common voice disorders.
Declared interests
One author has received consulting fees from Altec and Delsys, companies that develop human movement technology. Other authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume creak is a definitive diagnostic marker for dystonia. This study compared dystonia to healthy controls, not to other voice disorders like muscle tension dysphonia, and the authors note that further investigation is needed to confirm its discriminative validity.