Aerodynamic and Acoustic Characteristics of Voice in Prader-Willi Syndrome

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multisystem disorder caused by DNA abnormalities involving chromosome 15. Major characteristics are infant hypotonia, hypogonadism, mental retardation, a short stature, atypical facial appearance, and the onset of obesity due to insatiable hunger in early childhood. Also, speech and language abnormalities have been reported including voice disorders. These have seldom been studied in detail, however. This paper reports the results of an acoustic and aerodynamic investigation of the voice in 22 individuals with PWS. Two age groups were distinguished, a group of children [chronological age (CA) 6 years, 7 months through 11 years, 7 months; total intelligence quotient (TIQ) 40–88] and a group of adolescents and adults (CA 17 years, 1 month through 29 years, 5 months; TIQ 41–94). Both aerodynamic and acoustic parameters were obtained and compared with normative data from the Belgian Study Group on Voice Disorders. It was found that voice difficulties do commonly occur in individuals with PWS including impairment of frequency levels, voice quality, and poor aerodynamic capabilities.