Objective: To verify the relationship between clinical findings regarding dysarthria and self-perception of PD patients.

Background: Dysarthria is one of the most common non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease and can considerably compromise the communication skills of Parkinson patients and negatively impact their quality of life.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study. Thirty patients with PD had their speech and voices recorded at a center specialized in Movement Disorders by students of the speech-language pathology course. The recordings included four speech tasks taken from the Protocol for the Assessment of Acquired Speech Disorders in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PADAF)2: sustained vowel emission, number counting, diadochokinetic syllable rates (/pataka/), double vowel repetition (/i:u:/), and spontaneous speech. After the recordings, the patients answered two questionnaires of self-perception of speech: the Radboud Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson ́s Disease (ROMP)3 and Living with Difficulties of Speech Based on Neurology (Living with Dysarthria)4. Information on disease duration and severity of motor impairment were collected from patient medical records. The perceptual assessment of the speech recordings was performed by three speech-language pathologists with experience in the area.

Results: 13 patients were recruited, 8 (61.5%) of whom were women. The mean age of the group was 63,46 years (+-12.67). LWD 137,15 points (+-48.47) and ROMP 12,31 points (+-5.86). H&Y 1 -7.7%, H&Y 2 – 61.5%, H&Y 3 – 23.1 e H&Y 4 – 7.7%. Eight subjects (61.5%) displayed rigid motor symptoms, while 5 (38.5%) presented tremor. A speech assessment classified 8 (61,5%) patients as having slight dysarthria and 5 (38,5%) as having moderate dysartria. Those with slight dysarthria obtained average ROMP and LWD scores of 12.25 and 143.37 respectively, while participants with moderate dysarthria obtained average ROMP and LWD scores of 13.2 and 127.2 respectively.

Conclusion: No relation was found between degrees of motor impairment and speech impediment. Similarly, no significant association was established between degree of dysarthria and patient self-perception.

References: 1. Walsh B, Smith A. Basic parameters of articulatory movements and acoustics in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord. 2012;27(7):843-850. 2. PRESOTTO, MONIA ; RIEDER, CARLOS ROBERTO MELLO ; Olchik, Maira Rozenfeld . Validação de Conteúdo e Confiabilidade do Protocolo de Avaliação dos Distúrbios Adquiridos de Fala em Indivíduos com Doença de Parkinson- PADAF. CODAS, 2019 (in press) 3. Presotto M, Olchik MR, Kalf JG, Rieder CRM. Translation, linguistic and cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Radboud Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson’s Disease – ROMP questionnaire. Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr. vol.76 no.5 São Paulo. 4. Puhl AE, Diaféria G, Padovani MM, Behlau MS. Living with dysarthria self-reported questionnaire in Parkinson’s disease. In: 28th IALP Congress; 2010; Atenas, Grécia.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/correlation-between-degree-of-dysarthria-motor-severity-and-quality-of-life-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/