Affiliation: | †Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom ‡Unit of Paediatric & Perinatal Epidemiology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom *From the Otolaryngology, The Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom §ALSPAC Study Team, Bristol, United Kingdom |
Abstract: | There is only very limited information on the prevalence of voice disorders, particularly for the pediatric population. This study examined the prevalence of dysphonia in a large cohort of children (n = 7389) at 8 years of age. Data were collected within a large prospective epidemiological study and included a formal assessment by one of five research speech and language therapists as well as a parental report of their child's voice. Common risk factors that were also analyzed included sex, sibling numbers, asthma, regular conductive hearing loss, and frequent upper respiratory infection. The research clinicians identified a dysphonia prevalence of 6% compared with a parental report of 11%. Both measures suggested a significant risk of dysphonia for children with older siblings. Other measures were not in agreement between clinician and parental reports. The clinician judgments also suggested significant risk factors for sex (male) but not for any common respiratory or otolaryngological conditions that were analyzed. Parental report suggested significant risk factors with respect to asthma and tonsillectomy. These results are discussed in detail. |