Vocal changes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

The purpose of this study is to look at the prevalence of vocal symptoms and acoustic changes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

A total of 17 patients with PCOS diagnosed on the basis of three criteria: the presence of irregular menstrual cycles, hirsutism, and polycystic ovaries were included in the study. Twenty-one normal females' frequencies matched on age with the cases were used as controls. The following vocal symptoms were investigated: throat clearing, deepening of the voice, loss of voice, lump in the throat, and difficulty being heard. Acoustic analysis and laryngeal videostroboscopy were performed.

The age range was between 19 and 38 years with a mean age of 26 years. The most common prevailing symptom was throat clearing present in 76.5% versus 4.8% in the controls, followed by loss of voice (47.6%), lump in the throat (41.2%), and deepening of voice (35.3%). The differences in the prevalence of throat clearing, deepening of voice, lump in the throat, and difficulty being heard were statistically significant compared with controls (P value<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the acoustic parameters except for an increase in the relative average perturbation (P value=0.035) and a decrease in maximum phonation time (P value=0.001) in patients with PCOS. In the PCOS group, three patients had evidence of mild vocal fold edema and one patient had vocal fold nodules. In the control group, one subject had vocal fold edema and one subject had vocal fold nodules.

Patients with PCOS seem to have more vocal symptoms compared with controls. Physicians should be aware of vocal changes in hirsute subjects with PCOS.