Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Muscle Tension Dysphonia: A Prospective Pilot Study

To investigate the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) in comparison to subjects with no dysphonia.

Prospective cohort study.

Patients who were diagnosed with MTD at a tertiary referral center between October 2022 and October 2023 were invited to participate in this study, alongside a healthy control group matched by age and gender, with no history of dysphonia. The risk of OSA was evaluated using the STOP-BANG and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaires. Demographic data included age, gender, history of smoking, history of allergy, and history of reflux disease.

A total of 55 patients who had filled the STOP-BANG and ESS questionnaires were enrolled in this study, including 31 patients diagnosed with MTD and 24 healthy subjects. Using the STOP-BANG, two-thirds of the study group had an intermediate-to-high risk of having OSA as compared to 25% of the control group (P = 0.002). The odds of having OSA was 6.3 times among patients with MTD in comparison to controls (OR = 6.3; 95% CI [1.91-20.75]. When using the ESS, nine patients of the study group (29%) exhibited excessive daytime sleepiness compared to none in the control group (P = 0.007).

The results of this investigation indicate that the risk of OSA is significantly higher in patients with MTD vs. controls. Patients with MTD were 6.3 times more likely to have an increased risk of OSA in comparison to subjects with no dysphonia. A longitudinal study using objective tests for OSA is needed to establish a cause-effect relationship between OSA and MTD.