Summary
Objective
Hairdressers are more prone to respiratory diseases, bronchitis, asthma, shortness
of breath, and cough due to the nature of their occupation and the constant use of
cosmetics. Therefore, they may be prone to voice disorders or laryngeal problems.
Voice problems may affect not only their social and emotional relationships but also
their jobs. The current study was conducted to investigate voice problems and related
risk factors in hairdressers.
Design
Cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical.
Patients and Methods
A total number of 293 women participated in the study. The study group consisted of
147 hairdressers and the control group consisted of 146 women with other jobs. All
study participants were requested to complete a self-reported questionnaire. This
questionnaire investigated demographic characteristics, voice problems and symptoms,
laryngeal discomfort, working features, and workplace conditions. Chi-square, independent
t-test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.
Results
The prevalence of voice problems in hairdressers and the control group was 33.33%
and 15.75%, respectively, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Results of the Chi-Square test showed that prevalence of hoarseness, vocal
fatigue, dryness, and cough were higher in hairdressers than the control group (P < 0.05). According to regression logistic results, work time (hours per week) (P = 0.014; OR = 2.35; CI = 1.18–4.66) and presence of phonotraumatic behaviors (P = 0.012; OR = 2.73; CI = 1.24–5.96) increased the possibility of increasing the presence
of voice symptoms among hairdressers.
Conclusion
The findings revealed that self-reported voice problems were more prevalent in the
hairdressers group than in the control group and therefore the hairdressers were more
prone to an increased risk of developing voice problems. The most common symptoms
in the hairdressers group were cough, hoarseness, and dryness in the vocal tract.
Based on these results, in addition to paying attention to recommendations related
to environmental issues and exposure to chemical hazards, hairdressers may benefit
from receiving appropriate training in voice production, voice disorders, and the
prevention of voice disorders.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of VoiceAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Work-related voice disorder.Br J Otorhinolaryngol. 2015; 81: 202-211https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjorl.2014.03.003
- Occupational voice loss.Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis, 2005
- Work-related voice disorder: an integrative review.Revista Brasileira de Saúde Ocupacional. 2020; 45: e26
- Laryngeal and voice symptoms of workers in a chlorine chemical factory.J Voice. 2022; (in press)
- Risk factors and prevalence of voice disorders in different occupational groups-a review of literature.Otorynolaryngologia. 2017; 16
- Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Brazilian hairdressers.Occup Med (Lond). 2008; 58: 367-369
- Prevalence of airway symptoms among hairdressers in Bergen, Norway.Occup Environ Med. 2001; 58: 780-785
- Self-reported work-related symptoms in hairdressers.Occup Med (Lond). 2011; 61: 328-334
- Working conditions and health in hairdressing salons.Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 1999; 14: 26-33
- Airborne exposure to chemical substances in hairdresser salons.Environ Monit Assess. 2009; 153: 83-93
- Occupational exposures and respiratory symptoms and lung function among hairdressers in Iran: a cross-sectional study.Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2021; : 1-11
- Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function test among salon employees.Bahrain Med Bull. 2019; 41: 16-20
- Occupational exposures among hair and nail salon workers: a scoping review.Curr Environ Health Rep. 2019; 6: 269-285
- Occupational respiratory and musculoskeletal symptoms among Egyptian female hairdressers.J Community Health. 2015; 40: 670-679
- Respiratory symptoms amongst hairdressers: a review.Environment. 2015; 10: 11
- Work-related respiratory symptoms and airway disease in hairdressers.Int J Occup Environ Med. 2013; 4: 53-60
- Airway inflammation and ammonia exposure among female Palestinian hairdressers: a cross-sectional study.Occup Environ Med. 2015; 72: 428-434
- Respiratory status of hairdressers in Edo State, Nigeria.J Comm Med Primary Health Care. 2018; 30: 55-61
- The incidence of respiratory symptoms in female Swedish hairdressers.Am J Ind Med. 2003; 44: 673-678
- Voice changes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Egyptian J Chest DisTuberculosis. 2014; 63: 561-567
- Voice problems as side effects of inhaled corticosteroids in asthma patients—a prevalence study.J Voice. 2004; 18: 403-414
- Occupation-related symptoms in hairdressers.Dermatitis®. 2019; 30 (PubMed PMID:01206501-201903000-00007): 142-149https://doi.org/10.1097/der.0000000000000450
Nunnally JC. Psychometric theory 3E: Tata McGraw-Hill Education; 1994.
- Prevalence of voice problems in teachers and the general population.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2004; 47: 281-293
- Prevalence and risk factors of voice problems among primary school teachers in India.J Voice. 2017; 31 (e1-. e10): 117
- Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary functions of Hairdressers in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.J Biol Sci. 2013; 6: 32-36
Andarini D, Camelia A, Listianti AN. Occupational Respiratory Symptoms Caused by Chemical Hazard on Hairdresser Workers in Palembang. 2019. 2019;15:9. Epub 2019-10-06. doi: 10.15294/kemas.v15i1.12111.
- Respiratory function and chemical exposures among female hairdressers in Palestine.Occup Med (Lond). 2013; 63: 73-76
- Vocal tract discomfort symptoms in patients with different voice disorders.J Voice. 2015; 29: 317-323
- Laryngeal manual therapy: a preliminary study to examine its treatment effects in the management of muscle tension dysphonia.J Voice. 2009; 23: 353-366
- Effects of voice therapy on vocal tract discomfort in muscle tension dysphonia.Iran J Otorhinolaryngol. 2019; 31 (PubMed PMID:31598497): 297-304
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 23, 2022
Accepted:
August 2,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
This study was supported financially by the Semnan University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: 1242). We would like to thank all of the participants (from both groups), as well as the staff of the hairdresser salons.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
