Session Information
Date: Monday, October 8, 2018
Session Title: Rating Scales
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Hall 3FG
Objective: To determine the prevalence of patient-reported quality of life (QOL) measures of dysphonia and dysphagia in movement disorder patients at an academic medical center.
Background: Patient-reported symptoms of voice and swallowing impairment are thought to be common in movement disorders, namely dystonia, Parkinson’s disease (PD), atypical parkinsonisms (AP), and Essential Tremor (ET).
Methods: All patients with movement disorders referred to the movement disorders clinic were given two validated voice and swallowing specific QOL questionnaires: Voice Handicap Index – 10 (VHI-10) and Eating Assessment Tool – 10 (EAT-10). Clinical normative values were used to rate patients’ quality of life impairment.
Results: One hundred sixty-six consecutive movement disorder patients (males=98 and females=68) completed the questionnaires [(n values were PD=62, AP=21, ET=34, dystonia=17), and “other” (myoclonus=8, ataxia=8, orthostatic tremor=2, hemifacial spasm=1)]. We excluded the “other” group from analysis due to the small n values. Prevalence of patient-reported dysphonia symptoms was 32% in PD, 33% in AP, 9% in ET, and 35% in dystonia. Overall, ET patients had lower prevalence of patient-reported dysphonia symptoms when compared to PD, AP, and dystonia (p=0.0119, p=0.0454, p=0.0325, respectively). Prevalence of patient-reported dysphagia symptoms was 6% in PD, 29% in AP, 3% in ET, and 24% in dystonia. Overall, there was a significant difference between disease groups (p=0.004) with ET having lower reported dysphagia symptoms than dystonia and AP (p=0.0371, p=0.0097, respectively), and PD having lower than AP (p=0.0144).
Conclusions: In this single center cohort, patient-reported dysphonia symptoms were present in almost one third of patients with PD, AP and dystonia. AP and dystonia had a much higher prevalence of reported dysphagia symptoms than PD and ET. Patient-reported QOL measures such as VHI-10 and EAT-10 can help screen movement disorder patients for symptoms of dysphonia and dysphagia.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Finger, M. Siddiqui, J. Tate, I. Haq, L. Madden. Prevalence of Patient-Reported Symptoms of Dysphonia and Dysphagia in Movement Disorder Patients at an Academic Medical Center [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2018; 33 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-patient-reported-symptoms-of-dysphonia-and-dysphagia-in-movement-disorder-patients-at-an-academic-medical-center/. Accessed May 18, 2025.« Back to 2018 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-patient-reported-symptoms-of-dysphonia-and-dysphagia-in-movement-disorder-patients-at-an-academic-medical-center/