A comparison of voice activity and participation profiles according to the patterns of professional voice use

Objectives: The present study sought to investigate whether voice activity and participation profiles differ according to the patterns of professional voice use upon controlling for presence of benign vocal fold lesions (BVFL), gender, and severity of voice disorders. Methods: A total of 120 patients with BVFL and 120 normal controls were recruited for this study. Each participant was divided into four groups (30 participants for each group) according to the levels of professional voice use: elite vocal performer (group I), professional voice user (group II), non-vocal professional (group III), and non-vocal non-professional (group IV). The Korean version of the Voice Activity and Participation Profile (K-VAPP) and the GRBAS scale were performed. A multiple regression analysis was performed to predict each K-VAPP subscale score. Results: Upon controlling for presence of BVFL, gender, and severity, group I showed higher score in the job subsection (β=8.231, p < .001), whereas group II showed higher scores in the total score (β=26.647, p=.002), activity limitation score (β=9.639, p=.002), participation restriction score (β=11.376, p=.001), and subsections of job (β=7.124, p < .001) and social communication (β=4.553, p=.001) compared to the reference group (IV). On the contrary, group III did not show difference compared to the reference group. Conclusion: The current results indicated that subjective voice complaint of professional voice users is not less than that of elite vocal performers. Further research pertaining to more detailed profiles of various professions is needed.