Correlations between oropharyngeal and laryngeal anatomy and the frequency of singing voice: A population-based study, in Greece

Athina Zarachi 1, *, Angelos Liontos 2, Dionysios Tafiadis 3, Efthymis Dimakis 4, Konstantinos Garefis 5, Ioannis Kastanioudakis 1 and Georgios Exarchakos 1

1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina.
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina.
3 Department of Speech & Language Therapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
4 Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
5 2nd Academic ORL, Head and Neck Surgery Department, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2021, 03 (02), 059–069.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2021.3.2.0139
Publication history: 
Received on 17 August 2021; revised on 20 September 2021; accepted on 22 September 2021
 
Abstract: 
The aim of this study is to explore if there is correlation between the typical voice classification and oropharyngeal anatomy, using cervical posterior-anterior radiography on professional singers in Epirus, Greece. Methods: 70 professional singers, 35 men and 35 women, were recruited for this study. All participants underwent a cervical posterior-anterior radiographic imaging of their oral pharyngeal and laryngeal area. Results: A statistically significant difference of mean distance was observed for the CI-MHP area (p=0,004), the MHP- SCV area (F=2,62, p=0,032), as well as SCV-AI area (F=11,82, p=0,000). For the average length measured in mm of the phonetic area PA, statistically significant differences were computed among all the singers in the group (F [5] = 5.368, p = 0.001), as well as the OPC area (F = 6,48, p = 0,000). Conclusions: The cervical posteroanterior radiography provided new correlations of the voice category of professional singers with their Oropharyngeal and Laryngeal Anatomy.
 
Keywords: 
Voice; Cervical radiography; Professional singers; Greece; Laryngeal anatomy
 
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