Marked depression and anxiety in patients with functional dysphonia

The etiology of functional dysphonia is still unclear, but psychological factors are assumed to play an important role [Wilson, J.A., Deary, I.J., Scott, S., Mackenzie, K., 1995. Functional dysphonia. British Medical Journal 311, 1039-1040]. The purpose of this report is to investigate the impact of depression and anxiety in functional dysphonia. Sixty-one patients with functional dysphonia were screened for additional psychiatric disorders (besides 300.11) by a clinical psychiatric interview. They were then compared with healthy controls, matched by age, sex and occupation, with respect to self-reported symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety, and specific anxiety concerning health. The patients had significantly higher scores than the controls in depressive symptoms, in the symptoms of nonspecific and general anxiety, and in the symptoms of specific anxiety concerning health. Fifty-seven percent of the patients also fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for a mood disorder, an anxiety disorder, or an adjustment disorder. Multivariate analysis of covariance, performed to correct for the influence of co-morbid psychiatric diagnoses on self-rated symptoms of depression and anxiety, confirmed significant differences between patients and controls in the symptoms of depression and specific anxiety concerning “somatic complaints.” Both symptoms of depression and anxiety should be taken into consideration in the diagnostic as well as the therapeutic process of patients with functional dysphonia.