Prevalence of Dysphonia Among School Going Children in Dakshina Kannada District in Karnataka.

OBJECTIVE

Voice disorders among children are quite common, probably due to the excessive and phonotraumatic voice use patterns. Global prevalence falls between 1.4% and 53.2%; however, no such prevalence studies are available in Indian literature. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of perceptual dysphonia among school going children in the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India.

STUDY

DESIGN

Cross sectional study.

METHOD: A total of 3005 school going children aged between 6 and 17 were recruited through voice screening camps conducted across 16 schools through cluster sampling. They were screened using an auditory perception tool-consensus auditory perceptual evaluation of voice (CAPE-V) and adapted The Quick Screen for Voice protocol.

RESULTS

The prevalence of perceptual dysphonia was estimated to be 6.92% based on clinician rated CAPE-V ratings and The Quick Screen for Voice protocol. The measures of vocal tasks carried out as part of the protocol were grouped based on the age of the children.

CONCLUSION

The estimated prevalence highlighted the need for future epidemiological studies. Findings from such epidemiological studies will enable early identification, assessment, and treatment planning for pediatric voice disorders.