A Comparative Study of Iranian Female Primary School Teachers' Quality of Life With and Without Voice Complaints.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: As the largest group of professional voice users, teachers are more likely to face voice disorders because of their specific job conditions. This study aimed to compare the quality of life in female teachers with and without voice complaints.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of samples of primary school female teachers with (n = 60) and without (n = 60) voice disorders. All teachers were serving in Tehran, Iran. Professional background information was obtained through interviews, and quality of life was measured using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire. A comparison was made between the study groups to analyze the data.

RESULTS: The mean age of teachers was 44 (standard deviation = 3.95) years. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding their professional background. However, significant differences were observed between the two groups in all subscales of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey, including physical and social functioning, role limitations because of either physical or emotional problems, bodily pain, general health, vitality, and mental health (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Findings of this study point to the effect of voice complaint on quality of life and showed that teachers with voice complaints suffer from poor health-related quality of life. Therefore, both voice-specific and unspecific assessment methods are required for clinical diagnostics.