Prevalence of subjective voice impairment in rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) might lead to voice impairment through several mechanisms but its prevalence has been little investigated. RA patients attending a rheumatology outpatient clinic had joint assessments and completed the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). A comparator group consisted of patients attending the department with other diseases. Seventy-three patients with RA and 73 comparators were recruited. Four patients with RA (5%) and one comparator (1%) had significantly abnormal VHI-10 scores. RA patients with a Disease Activity Score 28 >3.2, indicating more active disease, had significantly higher VHI-10 scores. A low prevalence of self-reported voice handicap occurs in RA and associates with more active disease.
Fisher
Benjamin A
BA
Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Imperial College London, London, UK. benjamin.fisher@imperial.ac.uk
Dolan
Kathleen
K
Hastings
Lesley
L
McClinton
Catherine
C
Taylor
Peter C
PC
D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*