Clinical analysis of presbylarynx--vocal fold atrophy in elderly individuals

The proportion of elderly Japanese is increasing significantly and aging society greatly influences the medical services. The number of elderly patients who visited out Voice Outpatient Clinic has been increasing in recent years. The aim of the present study was to analyze the trend in the number of patients with aging-related vocal fold atrophy, and to assess the characteristics of senile change of vocal function.

A retrospective review of the 1999-2005 medical records of patients aged > or =65 years was conducted, and patients with presbylarynx were analyzed. We evaluated age, sex, occupation, maximal phonation time (MPT), and mean airflow rate (MFR) during comfortable phonation to assess the physiological characteristics of senile change of vocal function. We compared MFR of presbylarynx with those of normal elderly person.

The number of patients aged > or =65 who visited our clinic in the 7-year study period was 361, and 72 (20%) were diagnosed with vocal fold atrophy. They included 47 (65%) men and 25 (35%) women, with a mean age of 71 years (range, 65-89). Among these patients, 27 (38%) were still employed at the time of consultation, while 17 (24%) were retired, at least 26 jobs required voice skills; and 15 patients (21%) were involved in singing and recitation of poems. MPT correlated negatively with age, while MFR correlated positively with age.

The number of elderly patient with vocal fold atrophy increased gradually almost every year. The male patients account for 65%. Thirty-three percent of patient of the present study with presbylarynx were still in the workforce. MFR correlated positively and significantly with age. MFR was higher in presbylarynx than normal elderly person.