Effect of Menstrual Cycle on Aerodynamic Measures among Singers and Nonsingers

Abstract

Singer’s vocal apparatus is comprised of her entire body and mind and is easily influenced by hormonal variations. The hormonal changes may have adverse effects on a singer’s vocal performance. There is very little understanding about the aerodynamic measures among singers especially during the different phases of menstrual cycle in Indian population. Aims and objectives: To study the effect of menstrual cycle on aerodynamic measures among singers and nonsingers. The objectives of the study were to profile aerodynamic measures in singers and nonsingers, to compare the aerodynamic measures between the singers and nonsingers, and to study the effect of menstrual phase on aerodynamic measures between singers and nonsingers. Materials and methods: The participants in group I comprised of 30 nonsingers in the age range of 18–25 years. Group II comprised of 15 trained singers (received training formally more than 3 years), and group III had 15 untrained singers in the age range of 18–25 years. The forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in first second (FEVl), and peak expiratory airflow (PEF) were recorded. Descriptive statistics and repeated measure of ANOVA were done to study the effect of menstrual cycle on aerodynamic measures among singers and nonsingers using SPSS 16.0. Results: In the present study, the overall mean scores obtained for all the aerodynamic measures were reduced during menstrual phase as compared to the aerodynamic measures obtained during the follicular phase among both singers and nonsingers.