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Prevalence And Factors Associated With Dysphonia In Military Police Officers
Stephanie Mayra Natale Moraes1, Letícia Caldas Teixeira2, Adriane Mesquita de Medeiros2
1Postgraduate Program in Speech-Language Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Alfredo Balela, 190, Santa Efigênia, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Objective:
To analyze the prevalence and factors associated with dysphonia in military police officers.
Methods:
Observational, cross-sectional study with police officers from a Brazilian capital. Data collection was via an online questionnaire, with sociodemographic, health, and work information. The Dysphonia Screening Tool (Br-DST) was used to identify the probability of dysphonia. Police officers in operational and administrative service, from the Military Enlisted Personnel Corps, who were not in military training courses were included. Police officers who did not respond to the survey by the end were excluded. Descriptive and association analyses were performed using the Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and multinomial logistic regression.
Results:
Of the 482 participating military personnel, the majority were male (84.6%), aged between 23 and 38 years (52.3%), and married or in a stable union (70.6%). Regarding dysphonia, 5.4% presented a moderate probability of dysphonia and 3.9% a high probability. In the multivariate model, male sex was associated with lower odds of a high probability of dysphonia (OR = 0.342; P = 0.037), whereas absence from work due to voice problems (OR = 8.621; P = 0.008) and frequently raising the voice due to intense workplace noise (OR = 3.130; P = 0.022) were associated with higher odds of a high probability of dysphonia.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of dysphonia among military police officers was low. The factors associated with a high probability of dysphonia were sex, absence from work due to voice problems, and the need to raise the voice in the presence of intense noise at work. These findings highlight the importance of preventive strategies and monitoring of vocal health in police routine.
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