Occupational risks for voice disorders: Evidence from a Korea national cross-sectional survey

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the relationship between occupation and voice disorders using a national cross-sectional survey that represents the Korean population. Subjects were 5,407 members of the non-institutionalized population aged 19–59 (2,258 men, 3,149 women) who completed the laryngeal examination of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2012. Voice disorders were surveyed by classifying laryngeal pathologies and self-reported voice problems. Occupations were classified into ‘managers & professionals’, ‘clerical support workers’, ‘service & sales workers’, ‘skilled agricultural & forestry & fishery workers’, ‘craft & plant and machine operators and assemblers’, and ‘unskilled laborers’, based on the sixth Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. The results of the multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that managers & professionals were 1.4 times (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.01–2.01) more likely to have self-reported voice problems, and service & sales workers were 1.6 times (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.14–2.30) more likely to have self-reported voice problems than economically inactive people (P < 0.05). Still, there was no significant association between the presence of laryngeal pathology and profession. Managers & professionals and service & sales workers may have a higher risk of voice problems than the economically inactive.

Keywords:

• Dysphonia
• occupation
• risk factor
• voice disorder
• voice problem

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for providing data and consultations.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest.