Eliséa Maria Meurer

Speech Articulation of Low-Dose Oral Contraceptive Users

OBJECTIVES In the female life cycle, hormonal fluctuations may result in impaired verbal efficiency and vocal worsening during the premenstrual phase. Oral contraceptives may interfere with vocal range. Voice, resonance, and articulation variations clarify speech content. To investigate the phonoarticulatory sounds produced by oral contraceptive users aged between 20 and 30 years. STUDY DESIGN This is a cross-sectional study. METHODS Our study included four groups of women (n = 66): two groups used low-dose oral contraceptives and two groups did not use any oral contraceptives. Questionnaires and sound records were used. Acoustic analysis was performed using the Computerized Speech Laboratory program, Model 4341 (Kay Elemetrics Corp, Lincoln Park, New Jersey). The statistical analysis of the SPPS database, version 13.0, was performed by means of generalized estimating equation. RESULTS In the groups that did not use oral contraceptives, sustained vowel tones were more acute in the two phases and cycles of women older than 25 years (w/oOC1, 175 ± 74 to 190 ± 55 Hz; w/oOC2, 194 ± 56 to 210 ± 32 Hz). At the midfollicular phase (Fph) and midluteal phase (Lph) of the two cycles, the speed of the speech was slower in this group (w/oOC1: Fph, 5.3 ± 1.6/s and Lph, 5.4 ± 1.4/s; w/oOC2: Fph, 4.5 ± 1.7/s and Lph, 4.8 ± 1.1/s). In both groups that used oral contraceptives, there was a higher modulation frequency in the sentences when compared with nonusers (OC1, 33 ± 10 Hz; w/oOC1, 28 ± 10 Hz; OC2, 34 ± 10 Hz; w/oOC2, 27 ± 10 Hz). Vocal intensity was closer between the OC1 (62 ± 4 dB), w/oOC1 (61 ± 3 dB), and OC2 (63 ± 4 dB) groups when compared with the w/oOC2 (67 ± 6 dB) group. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated hormonal influences on speech articulation of contraceptive users and nonusers.

Voz e fala no menacme e na pós-menopausa

OBJECTIVES: to compare phono-articulatory characteristics between women in reproductive age and postmenopause women. METHODS: acoustic variations in vocal intonation, speed of the speech and the pause pattern were measured. Fourty five reproductive age women with regular menstrual cycles and taking no hormonal contraceptives and 45 postmenopause women receiving no hormonal replacement therapy for at least three years were interviewed and their verbal productions were recorded. Acoustic analyses were performed using the Kay Elemetrics Motor Speech Profile. Students t test was employed to compare data between the two groups when they presented normal distribution, and Mann-Whitney test when they were asymmetrical. RESULTS: the reduction on the rhythm and phonoarticulatory speed was more constant in the postmenopause group. CONCLUSIONS: a better understanding in this field will make possible to elaborate strategies to offer a better life quality for postmenopausal women, in special for those who use their voice professionally.

Vocal Range in the Speech of Users of Low-Dose Oral Contraceptives

OBJECTIVE The study aimed to investigate the vocal range of oral contraceptive (OC) users aged between 20 and 30 years. STUDY DESIGN This is a cross-sectional study. METHODS Forty-eight women aged 20-30 years who used low-dose OCs and 24 age-matched women who did not use oral monophasic contraceptives (w/oOC) were enrolled. Acoustic analysis was performed using the Motor Speech Profile program, Model 4341 (Kay Elemetrics Corp). Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equation. RESULTS In the w/oOC group, the highest vocal tones in the sentence uttered using exclamatory intonation were similar in the follicular phases of two cycles (F1: 289 ± 46 Hz; F2: 284 ± 61 Hz). In the luteal phase of the first cycle, the vocal tones were lower, whereas in the second cycle they were higher than the tones in both follicular phases (L1: 274 ± 42 Hz; L2: 291 ± 62 Hz) (P = 0.056). In the highest vocal tones of the same sentence uttered using exclamatory intonation, the OC group showed lower tones (284 ± 53 Hz) than the w/oOC group (298 ± 44 Hz) (P = 0.048). In the lowest vocal tones of utterances of joy, the OC group showed higher values (180 ± 39 Hz) than the w/oOC group (169 ± 44 Hz) (P = 0.024). The close proximity of the highest to the lowest values of utterances of joy in the OC group (321 ± 59 Hz and 180 ± 39 Hz), when related to the w/oOC group (338 ± 65 Hz and 169 ± 44 Hz), suggests a reduced vocal modulation. CONCLUSIONS The present findings demonstrate that the use of low-dose OCs influences the vocal range of women during menacme.