Objective: To define and compare the scores of the multiparametric acoustic indices AVQI, ABI and DSI in female and male teachers without laryngeal disorders, native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP).
Method: This is a cross-sectional analytical observational study with a convenience sample composed of 86 teachers from public education (48 women and 38 men, age range 27-55 years). All teachers underwent a videolaryngoscopy and presented a laryngeal examination without disorders. The voice and speech samples used for the AVQI and ABI (version 03.01) scores were obtained from the mid-three seconds of a sustained vowel [a] and a spontaneous count from 1 to 11, at the usual frequency and intensity. The DSI score (version 02.03) was obtained by the mid-three seconds of a sustained vowel [a], maximum phonation time of a sustained vowel [a], ascending vocal glide on the vowel [a] until reaching the highest pitch and sustained vowel [a] at the softest possible vocal intensity. The indices scores were obtained using a script in Praat software (version 6.1.47). The t-test was used to compare the difference between the ABI and DSI indices. The Mann-Whitney test was used for the AVQI index, with a confidence interval of 95%.
Results: The mean scores for female teachers were 1.42 (SD=1.01) for AVQI, 2.78 (SD=0.95) for ABI and 2.34 (SD=1.25) for DSI. For male teachers, the mean scores were 0.8 (SD=1.1) for AVQI, 1.66 (SD=1.15) for ABI and 2.67 (SD=1.43) for DSI. Women had higher mean scores of AVQI and ABI than men. The female teachers showed mean AVQI and ABI indices scores slightly higher than the cutoff points established for BP (AVQI=1.33 and ABI=2.94), while the male teachers presented mean scores within the established cutoff points. For the DSI, females and males showed mean values above 1.6, which reflected a neutral voice. There was a difference in AVQI (p=0.001) and ABI (p≈0,001) values between groups. The DSI values between the groups demonstrated no significant difference (p=0.249).
Conclusions: Female teachers had higher mean scores of AVQI and ABI than male teachers. The DSI score was higher for male teachers. There was a statistical difference between female and male teachers only in AVQI and ABI indices.