Voice disorders in children starting school education

Abstract

<b>Introduction: </b>Voice disorders in children especially in the school-age period comprise a major and challenging medical, social and educational issue. There is a lack of epidemiological data regarding children's voice in Poland which limits the development of preventive and medical pediatric procedures in our country. <br><b>Objective:</b> The aim of study was to determine the prevalence of voice disorders in children starting school education in Mazovia. <br><b>Material and method:</b> The study was a retrospective analysis of survey data from parents of children attending the first grade of primary school. The survey consists of five questions describing the voice. A statistical analysis of 7891 questionnaires was carried out. <br><b>Results:</b> Analysis of the survey showed a prevalence of dysphonia in 12.8% children aged 7 starting primary school. In this study, voice disorders were observed more often in boys (14.6%) than girls (10.8%). The authors presented the correlation between voice disorders and the expression of emotions. <br><b>Conclusions:</b> Studies have shown that the percentage of children with voice disorders is significant in our country. The survey regarding voice in school children in Mazovia shows preliminary results of voice disorders in the pediatric population in Poland.

Keywords: childhood dysphonia; survey; voice disorders.