Treatments for Age-related Vocal Atrophy: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Speech and Hearing Science
• Gerontology

Background:

• Age-related vocal atrophy (ARVA) significantly impacts voice, communication, and quality of life.
• Understanding the efficacy of ARVA treatments is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• This review systematically evaluates current treatment options for ARVA.

Approach:

• A systematic literature search was conducted using librarian-designed strategies (updated March 2022).
• Included studies focused on bilateral vocal atrophy treatments with comparator groups.
• Excluded were studies on unilateral atrophy, presbyphonia without specific findings, or lacking comparator groups.
• The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist guided the review.

Key Points:

• Eight articles (4 randomized trials, 4 cohort studies) were included in the narrative synthesis.
• Surgical and behavioral treatments for ARVA demonstrated superiority over control groups on specific outcome measures.
• Uniform superiority across all outcome measures and definitive comparisons between treatment types were not established.
• Variability in outcome measures and study quality, including risk of bias, were noted.

Conclusions:

• Both surgical interventions and voice therapy appear more effective than control conditions for ARVA.
• The current evidence does not support the superiority of one treatment modality over another.
• Further high-quality research is needed to compare the relative efficacy of different ARVA treatments.