Presbylarynx: Is It a Sign of the Health Status of the Elderly?
Section snippets
INTRODUCTION
Population aging is one of the challenges that worldwide healthcare systems face in the 21st century, and dysphonia is one of the common but undertreated health problems of the elderly.1,2 The incidence of voice disorders in the geriatric population is estimated to be from 12% to 35%.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Among the various causes of geriatric dysphonia, presbylarynx is attracting considerable attention.3, 4, 5, 6, 7,9
Presbylarynx can be defined as the age-related morphological changes in the larynx
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was approved by the local ethical committee and was carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki on human studies.
This case-control, prospective, observational, and cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 194 consecutive subjects observed by otorhinolaryngology, in a tertiary center, from January to September 2020. All of the patients were evaluated by the same otorhinolaryngologist, and a comprehensive medical history was obtained from
Study population
The study population included a total of 174 Caucasian subjects (60 males; 114 females), and mean age was 73.99 years (SD = 6.37; range 65-95 years). Presbylarynx was identified in 71 patients (41%) with no statistically significant predilection by gender (P= 0.254). The mean age of the patients with presbylarynx was statistically higher (76.29 years old; SD = 6.28; P< 0.001) than patients without presbylarynx.
Among patients with presbylarynx, a glottal gap was identified in 22 patients (31%)
DISCUSSION
The normal aging process affects human function broadly and profoundly, including voice.2 Thus, studies of voice changes in the elderly are extremely relevant because of the expansion of the aging population, and the impact of dysphonia on the emotional and social function of older adults.24 However, elderly patients generally have multiple medical problems, and no single medical issue can be evaluated and treated in isolation.25
In population studies, the prevalence of comorbidities and number
CONCLUSIONS
Our study found that elderly patients with T2DM, asthma and/or chronic obstructive lung disease, and psychiatric disorders all showed a statistically significant increase in endoscopic evidence of anatomical changes compatible with presbylarynx than their study cohorts without these chronic medical problems. The inverse also held true for those patients having a lower probability of mortality within 10 years (less presbylarynx findings) and patients with better scores on health functionality
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
COMPLIANCE WITH ETHICAL STANDARDS
Ethical approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
The authors declare that they have no financial disclosure to declare.
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Cited by (2)
Presbylarynx: How Easy Is It To Recognize The Aging Signs? A Prospective Study With Inter- And Intra-Rater Reliability In Laryngoscopic Evaluation
2022, Journal of VoiceCitation Excerpt :Finally, and as expected, Presbylarynx was mostly identified in laryngoscopic recordings of subjects older than 65 years old, corroborating the correlation between aging signs of the larynx and older ages. Presbylarynx results from the effect of the aging process that occurs continuously and differently among different individuals, with factors such as health status and body muscle mass having been proven to influence laryngeal aging.14,15 Presbylarynx is, therefore, an entity that differs among elderly patients and there isn't a specific age from which signs of presbylarynx are observed, nor is it present in all elderly patients.