ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the discriminative and predictive abilities of the Korean versions of the Voice Handicap Index (K-VHI), Voice-Related Quality of Life (K-VRQOL), and Voice Catastrophization Index (K-VCI) for dysphonia screening. Methods: A total of 132 and 244 subjects in the control and case groups, respectively, completed the K-VHI, K-VRQOL, and K-VCI. Using the different types of questionnaires, we tried to verify whether age, symptom duration, type of diagnosis, and gender affected the results, and analyzed the cut-off points for screening dysphonic patients. Results: The mean scores of questionnaires were not affected by factors such as age, symptom duration, type of diagnosis, or gender. All questionnaires showed a significant correlation with one another. The mean K-VHI and K-VCI scores of the case group were significantly higher than those of the control group. The mean K-VRQOL score of the case group was significantly lower than that of the control group. The cut-off points for the K-VHI, K-VRQOL, and K-VCI were 12.1, 91, and 6.1, respectively. The data showed relatively high sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve values at each cut-off point (above 0.9), indicating excellent accuracy and a high power of discrimination. Conclusions: The cut-off points identified in our study for the K-VHI, K-VRQOL, and K-VCI for distinguishing patients with voice disorders from the control group can be used as criteria to screen for Korean dysphonic patients.