Voice-related quality of life in patients pre thyroidectomy

ABSTRACT Purpose: to evaluate the quality of life in voice individuals submitted to thyroidectomy prior to the procedure. Methods: the study included female patients of a reference hospital referred for thyroid or gallstone surgery. Subjects were divided into: Study Group - 30 women (mean 44.26 years) referred for partial or total thyroidectomy surgery; Control Group - 30 women (mean 45.3 years), forwarded to gallstone surgery. The participants answered a screening questionnaire and Voice-Related Quality of Life. Data were statistically analyzed by the Fisher Two Tailed Test, Student's T Test and Pearson correlation coefficient, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results: there was a higher incidence of vocal complaints (48,3%), and lower scores for quality of life in voice in all areas in the study group than in the control group. In the exclusive analysis to the study group, it was observed that the physical domain was the most affected, with difference to the social-emotional domain (p=0,002), there is still strong positive correlation between the scores of the two domains (r=0,047; p=<0,001). Conclusion: it is concluded that the group of women with thyroid diseases pre-thyroidectomy has a negative impact on quality of life in voice, especially when it comes to the physical domain, and as the physical affections related to voice happen, there are influences on the social-emotional domain.