The Effect of Pulmonary Function on the Incidence of Vocal Fatigue Among Teachers

The Effect of Pulmonary Function on the Incidence of Vocal Fatigue Among Teachers: Females face a significantly higher risk of presenting with voice problems than males. This discrepancy has been associated with a number of differences in respiratory behavior and the physiology of the laryngeal and endocrine systems.



Methods

In conjunction with established spirometry measures, the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) was used to determine (1) if there is a relationship between base pulmonary function and vocal fatigue among teachers; and (2) if that relationship is different in females from males. One hundred and twenty-two elementary and middle school teachers (96 females and 26 males) from the Jordan School District in Northern Utah participated in the study.



Results

VFI factors were predictors of the outcomes of several raw spirometry measures for female participants, but the same predictive relationship was not found for male participants. Additionally, there appeared to be no relationship between VFI and spirometry measures in females when using normalized, rather than raw, spirometry metrics.



Conclusions

The results suggest that the pulmonary physiology that would result in reduced raw pulmonary function, in combination with other differences associated with gender, may lead to a greater incidence of vocal fatigue among female teachers than their male counterparts.



Key Words:

Vocal fatigue, Spirometry, Speech breathing, Vocal Fatigue Index, Occupational Voice, Breath Support