Prevalence of Voice Disorders and Associated Risk Factors in Teachers and Nonteachers in Iran Publisher Pubmed



Seifpanahi S¹ ; Izadi F² ; Jamshidi AA³ ; Torabinezhad F¹ ; Sarrafzadeh J³ ; Sobhanirad D⁴ ; Ganjuie M⁵
Source: Journal of Voice Published:2016

Abstract

Objectives Teachers are at increased risk for development of voice disorders. Because there is no published study on Iranian teachers, the aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of voice disorders among teachers and nonteachers in Iran and define the causing risk factors. Methods In the present study, 104 teachers and 41 nonteacher participants, whose jobs did not involve vocal effort, completed a questionnaire regarding to vocal complaint and four relevant risk factors. Results According to our gained data, 54.6% of teachers experienced vocal complaints during their work, although this value was 21.1% for the nonteacher group (P < 0.001). Moreover, investigating the prevalence of voice disorders during other periods of life was performed. Analyzing the questionnaire data indicated a significant higher vocal load risk factor for teachers (70.77%; standard deviation [SD], 29.48), in comparison with their nonteacher counterparts (27.44%; SD, 37.83; P < 0.001). In addition, our study revealed the significance of vocal load, as well as physical and environmental risk factors in the development of voice disorders in teachers with voice complaints. Conclusions Present findings indicated a higher epidemiology of voice problems among teachers in comparison with nonteacher individuals and introduced vocal load as the most important risk factor in development of voice disorder in Iranian teachers. Accordingly, it is recommended to pay special attention to negative effects of vocal load, although environmental and physical factors are also of importance. © 2016 The Voice Foundation