Effect of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 on Voice: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational and case-control studies
PubMed 37757764 · doi:10.1159/000534271
What was done
A PRISMA-guided systematic review and meta-analysis examined whether type 2 diabetes affects voice parameters. The review included 5 studies (4 case-control, 1 observational cohort) comprising 321 individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 171 healthy controls. Evaluated endpoints were subjective voice complaints (hoarseness), fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonic ratio, and maximum phonation time.
What was found
The meta-analysis identified no statistically significant difference between individuals with type 2 diabetes and control groups in the prevalence of voice complaints. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed across any of the acoustic or aerodynamic metrics (fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonic ratio, and maximum phonation time). No exact numerical values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals were reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
Despite hypotheses that diabetic neuropathy or myopathy might affect laryngeal function, available evidence suggests the phonatory apparatus maintains functional resilience and is not substantially altered by type 2 diabetes.
Limits
The analysis is restricted to only 5 studies with a small combined sample size (492 total participants). Included studies were predominantly case-control designs, and the abstract did not report numerical effect sizes, variance measures, or stratification by diabetes duration, glycemic control, or baseline neuropathy severity.
Cited by
- contradicts Diabetes can be detected from acoustic voice analysis due to spectral sound changes associated with dehydration.