title: Voice risk factors in kindergarten teachers in Greece.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to identify voice risk factors for female kindergarten teachers and nurses in Heraklion, Crete.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire consisting of voice use and lifestyle activities was given to 200 kindergarten teachers in Heraklion, Crete, of which 151 were returned (75.5%). A group of 89 nurses served as the control group. Both groups also completed the Greek version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-G).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Kindergarten teachers sing more often, speak loudly more often when they are at work and present with more infections of the upper respiratory tract compared to nurses. They talk less than 30 min per day on the phone, drink less alcohol and water and smoke less in comparison with nurses. The median VHI-G score for the kindergarten teachers was significantly higher than that for the nurses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that there is a difference in the factors that may be responsible for the appearance of voice problems in kindergarten teachers and in nurses. For kindergarten teachers, the risk factors for voice disorders are primarily related to vocal load factors and for nurses appear to be lifestyle-related more than voice use alone.
authors.affiliation: Speech Pathology, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, N.Y., USA. mchelidoni@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Meropi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Helidoni
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murry
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chlouverakis
authors.forename: Areti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okalidou
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Velegrakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D063346:Singing; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D014833:Voice Quality