Prevalence and associated factors of voice disorders among older adults: an updated systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Ageing is a continuing decrease in an organism’s age-specific health components caused by internal physical degradation. No systematic review is available on both prevalence and associated factors of voice disorders among older adults. Objectives: To systematically review the research conducted on prevalence and associated factors of voice disorders among older adults. Methods: This review was registered in the PROSPERO: International prospective register of systematic reviews under the registration number CRD-42020209022 and was adhered to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Protocols on Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Electronic databases were PubMed, EBSCO, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, LILACS. Additionally, reference lists of the selected articles were scanned and citation searches were performed. Two concepts ‘voice disorders’ and ‘older adults’ were used to develop the electronic search strategy. Findings were narratively synthesized: including a summary of the prevalence of voice disorders and associated factors of voice disorders among older adults. Results: Seventeen articles met the eligibility criteria. Two articles were excluded after the study quality assessment and 15 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Prevalence of voice disorders among older adults ranged from 1.8% to 55.2%. Respiratory diseases, vocal fold lesion, hearing loss, thyroid disease, hypo salivation, stroke, temporal mandibular disorders, smoking, phonotrumatic behaviours, age, gender, not seeking physician/ physician type, geographic location, weight gain, income, anxiety, and depression associated with older adults’ voice disorders. Conclusions: The prevalence of voice disorders among older adults ranged from low to moderate. Factors associated with voice disorders among the older adults included both physical, psychosocial and behavioural aspects.