PARKINSON’S DISEASE AND ATYPICAL PARKINSONIAN SYNDROMES: COMPARISON OF VOICE AND SWALLOWING PARAMETERS
Keywords:
Dysphagia, Parkinson Disease, Atypical Parkinsonian syndromes, DysphoniaAbstract
Introduction: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Atypical Parkinsonian Syndromes (APS) are neurodegenerative disorders causing dysphonia and dysphagia. This study investigates auditory and perceptual voice parameters in PD and APS patients, with and without dysphagia, compared to a healthy Control Group (CG), and explores potential correlations between phonation and swallowing biomarkers.
Methods: Twenty patients with parkinsonism [10 PD (2 females, H&Y: 2.8 ±1, years of age (yoa): 68.5(58-
76) and 10 APS (5 females, H&Y: 3.9±1, yoa: 71(59-74) and 20 healthy participants (12 females, yoa: 53.5 (48-71) were recruited during their routine appointment at the Movement Disorders Clinic. Participants underwent perceptual and objective assessments of voice (VHI, V-RQOL, GRBAS, acoustic and aerodynamic measures) and swallowing (EAT-10, SWAL-QoL, Water Swallow Test 90cc). Data were analyzed using nonparametric tests (SPSS, p<0.05).
Results: Both patient groups showed statistically significant differences in voice and swallowing parameters
compared to CG, with APS patients being more affected compared to PD patients. The two experimental
groups (PS and APS) were differed in variables: GRBAS (U=19, p=0.019), nonverbal oromotor
abilities (U=21, p=0.029), F0SD (U=22, p=0.035) amongst others. Patients with swallowing impairments
within each of the PD and APS groups differed significantly compared to patients with no swallowing impairments, in parameters including non-verbal diadochokinetic tasks and GRBAS. The acoustic voice parameters were not significantly different in PD and APS with and without swallowing impairments.
Conclusions: Subjective and objective assessments are valuable for evaluating voice and swallowing in PD and APS. Specific voice parameters, reflecting pitch variability, can distinguish dysphagic from nondysphagic
patients, highlighting their potential predictive role in clinical evaluation of voice and swallowing
function.
