title: Voice in chronic hemodialyzed individuals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic hemodialysis affects various body systems, one of which is the respiratory system. Since respiration is the prime source for speech, vocal dysfunctions are expected to be present in patients with chronic hemodialysis. The present study attempts to shed light on the changes in acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of voice, if any, in patients with chronic hemodialysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Phonation of sustained vowel/a/sample was subjected to acoustic analysis using VAGHMI software. Sustained duration of/a/,/s/, and/z/ was recorded for the purpose of aerodynamic analysis. The independent t test was employed to find the significant difference between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronic hemodialyzed subjects showed significant deviation in frequency, perturbation, and aerodynamic measures when compared to normal subjects. These results are discussed with respect to the underlying pathophysiology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study revealed that subjects with chronic hemodialysis exhibit clinical evidence of voice disorders. Vocal deviations in chronic hemodialyzed subjects are explained due to the influence of the renal system on the respiratory and the phonatory system and the negative fluid balance effect of hemodialysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India. radheesh_b@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Radish Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Balasubramanium
authors.forename: Jayashree S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bhat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult