Evaluation of Voice in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases, which are among the most common chronic gastrointestinal diseases, can also affect the voice for different reasons.The aim of this study is to investigate acoustic, perceptual and subjective voice evaluation parameters in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This prospective case-control study included a total of 80 participants: 28 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 22 patients with Crohn's Disease (CD), and 30 healthy controls. Following the endoscopic examination, the fundamental frequency (F0), shimmer (dB), jitter (%), and harmonic/noise ratio (HNR) were measured. GRBAS (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain) scale was used for perceptual evaluation, Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) Turkish version was used for subjective assessment. The F0 value was within normal limits in both disease groups in male and female participants and in the control group. Jitter and shimmer values were statistically higher in the UC and CD groups than the control group. HNR did not differ between CD and control, however it was statistically lower in the UC group when compared to both the control and CD group. The total GRBAS score did not differ between the UC and CD groups, however it was greater in IBD patients compared to the control group. However these differences were within normative parameters. Although total VHI-10 score did not differ between UC and CD groups, both had higher voice handicap than the control group. IBD might have an effect on the voice and voice quality. This disease group was discovered to have perceptual and subjective voice problems additionally.