Vocal Tract Discomforts among Smokers

Seyed Abolfazl Tohidast; Faezeh Fazeli; Golnoosh Golmohammadi; Ronald C Scherer; Banafshe Mansuri

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.09.014

Vocal Tract Discomforts among Smokers

J Voice. 2023 Oct 30:S0892-1997(23)00289-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.09.014. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Seyed Abolfazl Tohidast¹, Faezeh Fazeli², Golnoosh Golmohammadi³, Ronald C Scherer⁴, Banafshe Mansuri⁵

Affiliations

¹ Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
² Student Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
³ Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
⁴ Distinguish Research Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.
⁵ Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran. Electronic address: slp.banafshe@gmail.com.

PMID: 37914658
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.09.014

Abstract

Introduction: Smoking is a dangerous behavior for the human body and the vocal tract. Smoking can cause several laryngeal and vocal tract symptoms in smokers. One of these symptoms can be physical discomfort experienced by this population. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate vocal tract discomfort (VTD) in smokers compared to healthy non-smoker participants.

Materials and methods: The smokers group was forty-eight men with a mean age of 47.54 ± 9.21 years, and the matched non-smokers group was 48 men with a mean age of 44.88 ± 10.81 years. The participants underwent vocal tract discomfort assessment using the Persian version of the VTD scale. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was used for statistical analysis and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare variables between groups.

Results: The smokers more frequently had VTD symptoms (P < 0.05) than non-smokers for all items of the VTD scale with the exception of aches. Also, smokers had more significant VTD severity in all items than non-smokers (P < 0.05). Moreover, there were significant statistical differences between the total score of both frequency and severity of VTD between smokers and non-smokers. The most to the least VTD symptoms in smokers were irritation, sore, tickling, burning, tightness, lump in the throat, dry, and aching symptoms, respectively.

Conclusion: The present study suggests that smoking can cause more physical vocal tract discomfort in smokers compared to non-smokers. These results can inform future research and interventions in the smoker population.

Keywords: Laryngeal problems; Smokers; Smoking; Vocal tract discomfort; Voice.