Voice related quality of life and voice handicap index in dysphonic patients.: A comparison

Objective. The purpose of this study was to estimate the correlation between the voice handicap index (VHI) and the voice related quality of life (VRQOL) questionnaire with respect to gender and diagnosis (functional vs organic dysphonia). Materials and methods. A total of 52 German speaking patients aged 48.8 +/- 22.0 years suffering from clysphonia of different benign etiologies (functional dysphonia: 18 women, 9 men; organic dysphonia: 13 women, 12 men) completed German versions of both the VHI and the VRQOL questionnaire without prior information on their individual diagnosis. Another 52 individuals without voice complaints served as age and sex matched controls. Complete data sets of all participants were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel and MATLAB software packages. Results. The results of both questionnaires correlate at a significant level, both for total score (r = 0.9) and the subscores (r = 0.74 - r = 0.84) with only slight differences when comparing women and men and patients with functional and organic voice disorders. Conclusions. Both questionnaires provide very similar results. Thus, for clinical purposes, it seems justified to restrict oneself to using only one of the questionnaires. Whenever basic information on the patients' self perception of a voice disorder is required, the VRQOL questionnaire with only ten items may be easier to handle than the VHI questionnaire with 30 items.