Correlation of VHI-10 to voice laboratory measurements across five common voice disorders.
OBJECTIVE
To correlate change in Voice Handicap Index (VHI)-10 scores with corresponding voice laboratory measures across five voice disorders.


METHODS
Retrospective study.


METHODS
One hundred fifty patients aged >18 years with primary diagnosis of vocal fold lesions, primary muscle tension dysphonia-1, atrophy, unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP), and scar. For each group, participants with the largest change in VHI-10 between two periods (TA and TB) were selected. The dates of the VHI-10 values were linked to corresponding acoustic/aerodynamic and audio-perceptual measures. Change in voice laboratory values were analyzed for correlation with each other and with VHI-10.


RESULTS
VHI-10 scores were greater for patients with UVFP than other disorders. The only disorder-specific correlation between voice laboratory measure and VHI-10 was average phonatory airflow in speech for patients with UVFP. Average airflow in repeated phonemes was strongly correlated with average airflow in speech (r=0.75). Acoustic measures did not significantly change between time points.


CONCLUSIONS
The lack of correlations between the VHI-10 change scores and voice laboratory measures may be due to differing constructs of each measure; namely, handicap versus physiological function. Presuming corroboration between these measures may be faulty. Average airflow in speech may be the most ecologically valid measure for patients with UVFP. Although aerodynamic measures changed between the time points, acoustic measures did not. Correlations to VHI-10 and change between time points may be found with other acoustic measures.
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: gillespieai@upmc.edu.
Amanda I
AI
Gillespie
Biostatistics Facility, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
William
W
Gooding
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Clark
C
Rosen
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Jackie
J
Gartner-Schmidt
D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007821:Laryngeal Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000503:physiopathology; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*
Acoustic; Aerodynamic; Voice; Voice handicap; Voice laboratory