• Elaine Lara Mendes Tavares, Alcione Brasolotto, Marcela Ferreira Santana, Carlos Alberto Padovan, and Regina Helena Garcia Martins.
• Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade de São Paulo, Botucatu, SP, Brasil.
• Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2011 Nov 1; 77 (6): 736-46.

UnlabelledChildren dysphonia studies have reported an incidence of 4.4 to 30.3%.GoalsTo establish the prevalence of dysphonia in children, based on the opinion of the parents, acoustic and vocal-perceptual assessments, associated symptoms, risk factors and videolaryngoscopy findings.Materials And MethodsThe parents from 2,000 children answered a questionnaire about the vocal quality of their children, and these children were submitted to perceptual vocal, acoustic and videolaryngoscopy assessments.ResultsWe had 1,007 boys and 993 girls; sporadic symptoms were reported by 206 parents and permanent symptoms were reported by 123. In the perceptual assessment, the G parameter (degree of dysphonia) had a score of 0 in 694 voices; 1 in 1,065 and 2 in 228. There was f0 reduction with age and the remaining acoustic parameters were high in children with a G score of 2. Nodules, thickening and inflammation were the most common in the videolaryngoscopy exams.ConclusionsParental judgment indicated a prevalence of dysphonia in 6.15%, and perceptual analysis yielded a value of 11.4%. Vocal symptoms were associated with a phonatory overload. sinonasal disorders, vocal abuse and noise were considered relevant risk factors. The acoustic analysis kept a direct association with the perceptual-auditory. Laryngeal lesions were found in the videolaryngoscopy exams, stressing nodules, thickening and inflammation.

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