Associations Between Teachers’ Autonomic Dysfunction and Voice Complaints

Abstract

This investigation aimed to verify if there were any differences in autonomic nervous system function and voice parameters of teachers with and without voice complaints. Cross-sectional study. The Questionnaire of Autonomic Dysfunction was answered by 24 teachers, 6 males, and 18 females, whose heart rate variability was also assessed. Aerodynamic assessment of voice, acoustic and auditory-perceptual analysis of voice were done. Participants were divided into two groups: without voice complaints (WVCG; n=11) and with voice complaints (VCG; n=13) based on the completion of the Sociodemographic and Clinical Questionnaire. For auditory-perceptual analysis, VCG showed significantly higher values on GRBASH subscales Grade (P < 0.001) and Roughness (P=0.011). Regarding the heart rate variability, it was found that in the VCG, the square root of the mean squared difference of successive RR intervals (RMSSD) and the percentage of adjacent NN intervals differing by more than 50 milliseconds (pNN50) were significantly lower than in the WVCG (P=0.023 and P=0.032, respectively). The VCG presented a higher occurrence of neurovegetative symptoms directly related to voice, namely in fluctuating nose obstruction (P=0.011), neck pain (while or after speaking) (P=0.017) and in fatigability when speaking (P=0.004). Concerning the aerodynamic assessment of voice, acoustic analysis of voice and neurovegetative symptoms not directly related to voice, no statistically significant differences between groups were found. Findings indicated significantly lower values in RMSSD and pNN50 of teachers VCG when compared with teachers WVCG and that the teachers VCG presented a higher occurrence of neurovegetative symptoms directly related to voice than the ones WVCG.