Summary
Introduction
Fado is a genre of urban folk music from Portugal characterized by some particularities.
Some indictions in the study point this population of singers to be at higher risk
of developing voice disorders.
Aim
This study aims to provide estimates of the prevalence of voice disorders in Fado singers, and to characterize the professional practice and the impact of voice disorders
on their careers.
Methods
This is a cross sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire split into
six parts and 55 questions.
Results
A gender-balanced sample of 111 singers was achieved. Most of them recorded at least
once. Winter and spring were found to be the most difficult seasons in which to sing.
The overall prevalence of self-reported voice disorders was 39.6%, significantly higher
in females. Almost all sought clinical guidance. Vocal fold nodules, functional dysphonia,
and vocal fold polyp were the most common diagnoses. Vocal fatigue and hoarseness
were the main symptoms reported. Nearly half of the singers had to cancel shows due
to voice disorders.
Conclusion
Fado singers reveal both a relative high prevalence of voice disorders and related concerns,
even though some discrepancies were found regarding other apparently similar singer
populations. These results lead support the need for further investigation regarding
the risk or protective factors influencing voice disorders.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 20, 2018
Accepted:
October 29,
2018
Footnotes
Financial disclosure: This study was not funded by any company of source of funding.
Conflict of interest: Authors state that there is no conflict of interest.
☆Disclaimer: Preliminary results of this study were presented at 11° Corso Internazionale de Foniatria e Logopedia - La Voce Artistica 2017 (Ravenna, Italy). We declare that the study has not been submitted for publication in any journal.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
