Application of the Speech Handicap Index on patients with Parkinson's disease

Objectives: Speech problems are commonly seen in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The problems incurred by PD patients lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction and incompetence, causing a deteriorated quality of life. However, to date, there is no assessment tool to evaluate the self-perception of speech problems in PD patients. Thus, this study aims to look into the self-perception of speech problems in patients with PD. Methods: Forty-eight PD patients (men 20, women 28) were administered the Speech Handicap Index (SHI). Also, we analyzed the relationship between SHI and speech intelligibility and other variables, while looking into factors affecting the results of SHI by using multiple regression analysis. Results: Most of the PD patients scored higher than the average scores of the normal controls from the previous study, indicating a high degree of self-perception of their own speech problems. The current study also revealed that SHI scores are negatively related to speech intelligibility while positively related to depression and severity of disease. In addition, multiple regression analysis has shown that speech intelligibility and depression are two factors affecting SHI. Conclusion: The study is significant in that it is the first study that identified the self-perception of speech problems in PD using the SHI. The fact that patients in H&Y stages I or II demonstrated high SHI scores would imply that careful attention should be given to speech problems of PD patients from early stages of the disease.