The Influence of Gender and Age on the Acoustic Voice Quality Index and Dysphonia Severity Index: A Normative Study.

OBJECTIVES

The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) are commonly used in research and clinical practice to quantify voice quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of gender and age on AVQI and again on DSI.

METHODS

In total, 123 vocally healthy adults (68 females, 55 males, and age ranging between 20 and 79 years) were evaluated.

RESULTS

Gender had no effects on AVQI and DSI (both P values > 0.05). Additionally, AVQI showed no significant correlation with age (P > 0.05, r2 = 0.008). However, DSI had a statistically significant correlation with age (P < 0.05), with 5% of the variance in DSI explained by the variance in age.

CONCLUSIONS

AVQI values do not depend on gender and age. DSI values do not depend on gender but correlated slightly with age. This finding confirms earlier research.