Adductor and abductor spasmodic dysphonia: A comparison of quality of life issues for those receiving Botox treatment

Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a chronic vocal condition that significantly affects physical, psychological, and social well being. The preponderance of studies has been with the adductor type. This survey study examined 258 participants to ascertain if there is a difference in quality of life between the multiple types, controlling for Botulinum Toxin treatment. Abductor types comprised 32.2%, adductor types comprised 51.2 %, and mixed types comprised 16.6% of the sample. An intriguing finding was that there was a significant difference in quality of life between all mixed types and adductor plus tremor and abductor plus tremor versus simple abductor and adductor spasmodic dysphonia combined (t = 2.603, df = 142, p = 0.01). However, the quality of life perceived by a person with SD did not necessarily correspond to the observed effectiveness of Botox treatment in most other cases