Incidence and nature of functional voice disorders

South African Journal of Communication Disorders

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Incidence and nature of functional voice disorders
 
Creator Bhaila, Yusra M. van der Linde, Jeannie Milton, Carmen Graham, Marien A.
 
Subject Speech-Language Pathology functional voice disorders; speech-language pathology; voice disorders; occupational voice users; laryngeal pharyngeal reflux; muscle tension dysphonia
Description Background: Functional voice disorders (FVDs) result from inefficient vocal use without an organic cause and have an underreported incidence.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the incidence and nature of FVDs among treatment-seeking patients at a private interdisciplinary voice clinic in Pretoria, South Africa.Method: A retrospective quantitative design was used to analyse data from 86 patients diagnosed with FVDs between January 2017 and July 2022. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied.Results: The incidence rate of FVDs was 16.67% among 516 patients with voice disorders. The primary diagnosis was muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), affecting 80.2% of cases. The most common secondary diagnosis was laryngeal pharyngeal reflux (LPR) at 39.5%. Hoarseness was the most reported symptom. No significant differences were found between occupational and non-occupational voice users.Conclusion: The findings clarify the incidence and nature of FVDs in the South African context.Contribution: It underscores the need for greater awareness of FVDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as well as future research on prevention and management strategies.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor —
Date 2025-11-25
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Retrospective quantitative design
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajcd.v72i1.1117
 
Source South African Journal of Communication Disorders; Vol 72, No 1 (2025); 7 pages 2225-4765 0379-8046
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/1117/2624 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/1117/2625 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/1117/2626 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/1117/2627
 
Coverage South Africa Current Male and female adults, different ethnic groups.
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Yusra M. Bhaila, Jeannie van der Linde, Carmen Milton, Marien A. Graham https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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