Prevalence and Influencing Risk Factors of Voice Problems in Priests in Kerala.

OBJECTIVE: Voice problems are commonly reported by professionals in occupations involving a large amount of voice loading. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of voice problems in Mar Thoma priests and identify possible risk factors responsible for voice problems.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study.

METHOD: The study group consisted of 270 Mar Thoma priests with 1-35 years of professional experience. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect the data.

RESULTS: Mar Thoma priests were found to have higher career (47.8%) and year prevalence (25.2%) of voice problems with 17.8% of them reporting frequent voice problems during their career. Asthma, allergy and frequent throat clearing behavior were found to have significant association with priests reporting frequent voice problems. Significantly higher number of priests with frequent voice problems missed their work.

CONCLUSION: The study results provide valuable preliminary information regarding the prevalence voice problems and associated risk factors in Mar Thoma priests. However, further investigations are required for in-depth understanding of the types of voice problems these priests experience and their impact on their quality of life.