Correlation between Vocal Fatigue Index and Voice Handicap Index scores in persons with laryngeal pathologies

Background: Voice is the unique means of human’s verbal expression, which is produced in the larynx. Laryngeal pathologies can coexist with vocal fatigue and a feeling of voice handicap. The aim of this study was to determine descriptive statistics of males and females and compare the related means. Meanwhile, it was attempted to determine the correlation between Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) and Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study conducted on 110 patients with laryngeal pathologies. Fifty four participants were males with mean age of 43.7 years (SD=15.6), and 56 were females with mean age of 40.1 years (SD=11.1). Data was analyzed using SPSS 21 at a significance level of P<0.05. Descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Spearman and Pearson’s co-efficient of correlation, paired t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used. Results: There was significant correlation between the tiredness and physical discomfort factors of VFI and VHI in patients with laryngeal pathologies (P