Multidimensional associations between the dysphagia handicap index and voice characteristics in a shanghai adult population.

Purpose: Swallowing and voice share anatomical and physiological mechanisms, yet their relationship in healthy individuals remains underexplored.

Methods

This study examined associations among voice assessments and self-perceived swallowing in 110 healthy Shanghai adults.

Results

Correlation analysis showed that the results of Dysphagia Handicap Index, which captures subjective perceptions of swallowing impairment, correlated negatively with Maximum Phonation Time, the Dysphonia Severity Index, Diadochokinesis rate, four Laryngeal Diadochokinesis tasks, the Voice-Related Quality of Life Measure, and the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) Factor 3, and positively with Jitter, Noise-to-Harmonics Ratio, Lowest Intensity, and VFI Factors 1 and 2, with correlations generally in the weak-to-moderate range. A regression model indicated that voice parameters, particularly measures of vocal stability such as Jitter and fatigue recovery as measured by VFI Factor 3, together with age, accounted for over half of the variance in self-reported swallowing handicap.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that multidimensional voice evaluation may offer exploratory, non-invasive insights into swallowing-related function, and could contribute to future approaches for early detection of subclinical swallowing difficulties in aging populations.