Resumen

BHAILA, Yusra M.; VAN DER LINDE, Jeannie; MILTON, Carmen  y  GRAHAM, Marien A.. Incidence and nature of functional voice disorders. S. Afr. J. Commun. Disord. [online]. 2025, vol.72, n.1, pp.1-7. ISSN 2225-4765.  https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v72i1.1117.

BACKGROUND: Functional voice disorders (FVDs) result from inefficient vocal use without an organic cause and have an underreported incidence OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the incidence and nature of FVDs among treatment-seeking patients at a private interdisciplinary voice clinic in Pretoria, South Africa METHOD: A retrospective quantitative design was used to analyse data from 86 patients diagnosed with FVDs between January 2017 and July 2022. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied RESULTS: The incidence rate of FVDs was 16.67% among 516 patients with voice disorders. The primary diagnosis was muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), affecting 80.2% of cases. The most common secondary diagnosis was laryngeal pharyngeal reflux (LPR) at 39.5%. Hoarseness was the most reported symptom. No significant differences were found between occupational and non-occupational voice users CONCLUSION: The findings clarify the incidence and nature of FVDs in the South African context CONTRIBUTION: It underscores the need for greater awareness of FVDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as well as future research on prevention and management strategies

Palabras clave : functional voice disorders; speech-language pathology; voice disorders; occupational voice users; laryngeal pharyngeal reflux; muscle tension dysphonia.

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