An analysis of occupational dysphonia diagnosed in the North-East of Poland.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate factors predisposing to occupational dysphonia in a group of professional voice users.
Material and Methods: The study involved 374 patients treated in the Clinic of Otolaryngology and the Phoniatric Outpatient Clinic, Department of Otolaryngology, Medical University of Białystok in 1999--2001. Group I consisted of 309 patients qualified as professional voice users. The obtained results were compared with those yielded in a group of 65 persons of other occupations (group II). All the diagnosed patients neither smoked nor abused alcohol. Tobacco smokers, patients with chronic diseases of the respiratory system or individuals exposed to irritating vapors were excluded from the study. The clinical evaluation included phoniatric examinations with use of videoendoscopy (VIS) and videolaryngostroboscopy (VLSS) of the larynx. Based on the larynx endoscopic image the voice organ pathology was diagnosed in the patients as functional and/or organic dysphonia. The former comprised hyperfunctional or hypofunctional dysphonia and insufficiency of the glottis and the latter other laryngeal disturbances. In the statistical analysis chi2 parametric test of independence for two averages was used.
Results and Conclusions: Female teachers of primary and lower secondary schools, mean age 43 years, prevailed in the group of professional voice users, in which functional dysphonia was more common. In this group, the onset of organic changes was earlier than that of functional changes and was manifested by soft vocal nodules, edematous and inflammatory changes in the vocal fold mucosa. Functional dysphonia of 3 degrees, 4 degrees and even 5 degrees predominated in the group of professional voice users in the course of their employment.