Prevalence of dysarthria in adult myotonic dystrophy (M. Steinert) patients; speech characteristics and intelligibility

Abstract

Adult patients with myotonic dystrophy (MYD) from one Swedish county were examined with a Swedish dysarthria test and their speech was perceptually evaluated. Nine of the twenty-three patients had dysarthric symptoms; all had a hyperaasal resonatory problem and six had articulatory difficulties. Other dysarthria features occurred and the degree of the dysarthric symptoms varied considerably. Age, onset time and duration of the MYD were not good predictors for dysarthria. Our results support the view that there are different subgroups of MYD: with and without dysarthria. The speech problem is sometimes the first symptom of MYD and it is very important that speech pathologists and phoniatricians have a solid knowledge of MYD dysarthria as—according to other studies—a correct diagnosis can be life-saving.

Key Words:

• Speech disorders
• dysarthria
• myotonic dystrophy
• prevalence