The Prevalence of Voice Disorders and the Related Factors in University Professors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Sanaz Azari; Alireza Aghaz; Mohammad Maarefvand; Leila Ghelichi; Fariba Pashazadeh; Younes Amiri Shavaki

doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.02.017

The Prevalence of Voice Disorders and the Related Factors in University Professors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

J Voice. 2022 Apr 11:S0892-1997(22)00057-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.02.017. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sanaz Azari¹, Alireza Aghaz², Mohammad Maarefvand³, Leila Ghelichi¹, Fariba Pashazadeh⁴, Younes Amiri Shavaki⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Speech and Language Pathology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Speech and Language Pathology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
³ Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Research Center for Evidence Based Medicine, Iranian EBM Centre: A JBI Centre of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: Fariba.Pashazadeh@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Speech and Language Pathology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: amiriyoon@yahoo.com.

PMID: 35422355
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.02.017

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of voice disorders and related factors in university professors.

Methods: In this systematic review, Medline, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane Library, Eric, ProQuest, Magiran, Scientific Information Database and IranDoc databases were searched. The search was limited to January 1990 and May 2020. The inclusion criteria were reports of the prevalence of voice disorders in university professors and original studies in English and Persian languages. The exclusion criteria were studies assessing voice disorders in school or music teachers; the full-text not available; and case studies, conference papers, and review studies. All eligible studies were selected and critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Finally, a meta-analysis was performed using STATA 16.0 statistical software.

Results: The preliminary search yielded 1251 articles and 18 of which met the eligibility criteria. The overall prevalence of voice disorders in university professors was 41% (Pooled prevalence: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.34-0.49, P-value < 0.001). Country-based analysis showed that the highest prevalence of voice disorders among university professors was in Iran 69% (Pooled prevalence: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.62-0.76) and the lowest was in China 20% (Pooled prevalence: 0.20, CI: 0.14-0.27). Among 4037 university professors, caffeine consumption was the most frequent related factor (87%) and dry throat was the most frequent symptom (46%).

Conclusions: The present study yielded about 41% of the professors had voice disorders. Among the influential habits, caffeine consumption and among the symptoms, dry throat were very common in university professors. Due to the cross-sectional nature of our studies, we were not able to perform further analyses on the risk factors for voice disorders. Therefore, more longitudinal surveys are needed for reaching a more reliable and deep view into the development of voice disorders.

Keywords: Meta-analysis; Prevalence; Systematic review; University professor; Voice disorders.

Publication types

Review