The relationship between depressive symptoms and Voice Handicap Index scores in laryngopharyngeal reflux.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if a relationship exists between depression and Voice Handicap Index (VHI) scores in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) disease.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data.


METHODS
One hundred nineteen patients were prospectively evaluated with the VHI questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory Fast Screen (BDI-FS) survey. Patients with a pre-existing diagnosis of depression were excluded.


RESULTS
Complete data was available for 36 patients with LPR and 53 controls. No significant differences existed between groups with respect to age, race, or gender. Mild depressive symptoms were identified in 9% of controls and 3% of LPR patients by BDI-FS screening (P = .4); no patients had moderate or severe depression symptoms. Compared to controls, patients with LPR had significantly higher mean scores for total VHI (16.2 vs. 6.6, P = .002), functional VHI (5.8 vs. 2.4, P = .02), and physical VHI (6.9 vs. 2.5, P = .008) domains. Mean scores for the VHI emotional domain (3.5 vs. 1.7, P = .2) and BDI-FS (0.2 vs. 0.8, P = .3) did not differ between patients with LPR and controls. For all participants, a positive correlation was found between BDI-FS score and VHI emotional domain score (r = 0.3, P = .008).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with LPR report poorer VHI functional and physical scores compared to controls; however, LPR symptoms do not result in significantly worse VHI emotional domain scores or depressive symptoms. There is a correlation between VHI emotional domain scores and BDI-FS scores. These data suggest that LPR patients with poor VHI emotional domain scores might benefit from screening for depressive symptoms.
Elam
Jackson C
JC
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
Ishman
Stacey L
SL
Dunbar
Kerry B
KB
Clarke
John O
JO
Gourin
Christine G
CG
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D055154:Dysphonia / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006685:Hoarseness / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D057045:Laryngopharyngeal Reflux / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D014833:Voice Quality