title: Prevalence of subjective voice impairment in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: 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.
authors: Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Imperial College London, London, UK. benjamin.fisher@imperial.ac.uk
authors: Benjamin A
authors: BA
authors: Fisher
authors: Kathleen
authors: K
authors: Dolan
authors: Lesley
authors: L
authors: Hastings
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: McClinton
authors: Peter C
authors: PC
authors: Taylor
mesh_terms: 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*