Measurement of Voice Quality, Anxiety and Depression Symptoms After Speech Therapy

To verify changes in vocal behavior of dysphonia patients and components of anxiety and depression symptoms before and after voice therapy.

It is an uncontrolled clinical trial on individuals with dysphonia who attended voice therapy at the outpatient clinic of a hospital in southern Brazil.

Statistical analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests, assuming maximum significance level of 5% (P ≤ 0.05), SPSS 16.0. All patients underwent otorhinolaryngologic assessment for laryngeal disorder diagnosis. Perceptual-auditory voice assessment (GRBAS scale) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were applied before and after voice therapy.

Sixty-eight patients, 23 of whom were men (33.82%), mean age of 49 years (standard deviation ± 19.14). The number of voice therapy sessions varied according to each case, with a mean of 10.31 (standard deviation ± 5.32). The comparisons between psychological or psychiatric referral and participants' age revealed statistical significance, suggesting that younger people were referred to the specialties because they were suspected potential clinical cases. Comparisons between voice parameters, anxiety and depression scores before and after voice therapy showed statistically significant findings.

This study identified the presence of emotional symptoms in dysphonia patients and indicated that voice therapy is effective to improve voice quality and to early detect and help reduce anxiety and depression symptoms. It also highlights the influence of psychological and psychiatric referral on emotional symptoms. The need for controlled trials and the importance of interdisciplinary interventions in this area for the complete care of individuals with dysphonia is pointed out.