Value of the Portuguese VHI and SVHI Instruments to Discriminate Voice Pathologies in Voice Professionals

Objectives: 1) Determine the sociodemographic characteristics of a group of elite vocal performers (singers and actors). 2) Investigate the discriminating power of the Portuguese validated versions of the instruments VHI and SVHI in addressing different voice pathologies.Methods: The study had the participation of 324 individuals (217 singers and 107 actors). All the participants were evaluated by telescopic or transnasal laryngoscopy and completed: 1) a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic characteristics and vocal use; and 2) the Portuguese version of the VHI. All the singers completed also the Portuguese version of the SVHI. Descriptive statistics used mean, median, standard deviation, minimum, maximum values for quantitative variables, and absolute (n) and relative (%) values for qualitative variables. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to investigate the discriminating power of the VHI and SVHI instruments to address different voice pathologies.Results: Of the 324 subjects, 51.2% were female and 48.8% were male with a mean age of 40.8 years (range: 15-82 years). 52.3% were single, followed by married (32.1%) and divorced/widowed (15.6%). Approximately 34% of subjects smoked on average and worked with the voice for nearly 21 years. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis showed a weak discriminating power between diagnoses and VHI or SVHI scores, except for vocal cord nodules that are associated with a higher (worse) VHI score.Conclusions: The Portuguese versions of the VHI and SVHI instruments are useful to measure the voice handicap among Portuguese actors and singers but have a limited value to discriminate between vocal pathologies.