Acoustic parameters of voices of women in post-menopause

INTRODUCTION: Voice aging is characterized by changes caused by body aging, interfering with the vocal intonations, revealing states of soul and body. To investigate the vocal quality of postmenopausal women using objective parameters is important to foster research in this area, as well as assisting in improving the quality of life of this group. OBJECTIVE: To determine the acoustic parameters of the voice of women in post-menopause. METHOD: Quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 23 women in the postmenopausal period, using the Praat software 5.2.0. The parameters considered were fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, harmonic noise and spectrographic analysis. The sample consisted of women enrolled in the Open University of Third Age in Salvador-BA. Data analysis was descriptive, using percentages, and t test to check the relationship between increasing age and vocal worsening. RESULTS: In this sample, 13% had values below the fundamental frequency of 150Hz and 34% between 150 and 217Hz, demonstrating voice deepening. There was a statistically significant worsening of this related to increasing age parameter (p=0.02471). There was difference between the jitter and shimmer parameters according to increasing age, but without statistical significance. These acoustic parameters are related to changes in the vibratory pattern of the vocal folds (vibration cycle). A harmonic noise ratio was above 15.000 in all women, but also had lower values with increasing age, with no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The observed changes in acoustic parameters show that postmenopausal women had changes in vocal patterns, which can lead to decreased quality of life. Therefore, it requires a closer look at the need of speech therapy in this group.

引言：嗓音老化以机体衰老引发的改变为特征，会干扰发声语调，反映个体的身心状态。通过客观参数探究绝经后女性的嗓音质量，对于推动该领域的研究以及提升这一群体的生活质量均具有重要意义。
目的：明确绝经后女性的嗓音声学参数。
方法：本研究为定量横断面研究，招募了23名绝经后女性，使用Praat软件5.2.0开展分析。本次考量的参数包括基频（fundamental frequency）、基频微扰（jitter）、振幅微扰（shimmer）、谐噪比（harmonic noise）以及频谱分析。研究样本来自巴西巴伊亚州萨尔瓦多市第三年龄开放大学的在册女性。数据分析采用描述性统计方法，以百分比呈现数据，并通过t检验验证年龄增长与嗓音恶化之间的相关性。
结果：本样本中，13%的受试者基频低于150Hz，34%的受试者基频介于150Hz至217Hz之间，提示嗓音出现低沉化改变。年龄增长与该参数的恶化存在统计学意义上的显著关联（p=0.02471）。随年龄增长，基频微扰与振幅微扰参数存在变化差异，但未达到统计学显著性水平。上述声学参数与声带振动模式（振动周期）的改变密切相关。所有受试者的谐噪比均高于15.000，但随年龄增长该值呈降低趋势，且未表现出统计学显著性。
结论：本次研究观测到的声学参数变化表明，绝经后女性的发声模式存在改变，这可能导致其生活质量下降。因此，需进一步关注该群体接受言语治疗的必要性。