Objectives: To evaluate the internal consistency, reliability, and clinical validity of the Italian version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI).
Study Design: Cross-sectional survey study was carried out.
Methods: One hundred and seventy-five patients with voice disorders, divided in four groups according to the etiology of the disease (neurogenic, structural, functional, and inflammatory), and 84 asymptomatic subjects were included in the study. Internal consistency was analyzed through Cronbach α coefficient. For the VHI test-retest reliability analysis, the Italian VHI was filled twice by 56 patients and 56 control subjects. The test-retest reliability was assessed through the Pearson correlation test. For the clinical validity assessment, the scores obtained in the pathological group were compared with those found in asymptomatic individuals through the Kruskal-Wallis test. Also, the correlation between VHI and the grade of voice disorder was assessed. Finally, the effect of age and gender on overall VHI and its three subscales was analyzed.
Results: Optimal internal consistency was found (α=0.93); the test-retest reliability in both groups was high (r>0.86). Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance for the overall VHI score and its three domains revealed a significant main effect for group (P=0.000). The control group scored significantly lower than the four groups of voice-disordered patients. The overall VHI score positively correlated with the grade of voice disorder (r=0.43). In the voice-disorder group, age and gender were not correlated to the overall VHI score and to their three domains.
Conclusion: The Italian VHI is highly reproducible, and exhibits excellent clinical validity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2009.05.006 | DOI Listing |
BMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Background: Because cirrhosis is often unrecognized, we aimed to develop a stepwise screening algorithm for cirrhosis in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and assess this approach's feasibility and acceptability.
Methods: VHA hepatology clinicians ("champions") were invited to participate in a pilot program from June 2020 to October 2022. The VHA Corporate Data Warehouse was queried to identify Veterans with possible undiagnosed cirrhosis using Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) ≥ 3.
BMC Genomics
January 2025
Cannabis Innovation and Research Center, Université de Moncton, Moncton, New-Brunswick, Canada.
Background: Due to its previously illicit nature, Cannabis sativa had not fully reaped the benefits of recent innovations in genomics and plant sciences. However, Canada's legalization of C. sativa and products derived from its flower in 2018 triggered significant new demand for robust genotyping tools to assist breeders in meeting consumer demands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Causes Control
January 2025
University of Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, CA, USA.
Purpose: There is a consistent relationship with greater ovulation frequency and increased risk of ovarian cancer. However, prior research on infertility, which may be associated with ovulation frequency through multiple mechanisms, and ovarian cancer has yielded conflicting results, possibly due to prior research conflating fertility treatment with infertility and restricting follow-up to premenopausal cases. Our objective was to determine the association between infertility and risk of postmenopausal ovarian cancer, overall and by histotype, in a population that had not received treatment with IVF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Université Laval, Quebec, Canada.
The preferred period hypothesis posits a slowing down of motor and perceptual rhythmic preferences with age, both reflecting an increase in the common internal oscillation period. This study further investigates the preferred period hypothesis by improving the measurement of perceptual rhythmic preferences through two tasks, tempo adjustment and tempo judgment, conducted in auditory and visual modalities. The study was conducted with three groups of children (5-6, 8-9, and 11-12 years old), and a group of young adults (21 to 30 years old) during the same time of the day.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFESMO Open
January 2025
Medical Oncology and Hematology Unit, Humanitas Cancer Center, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano (Milan), Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, (Milan), Italy. Electronic address:
Background: The treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with atezolizumab and bevacizumab led to significant improvements in overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and response rate compared with sorafenib in the phase III IMbrave150 trial. The etiology of background liver disease can differ between Eastern and Western populations, leading to a potentially different impact of systemic therapies; therefore the unequal representation must be considered in the IMbrave150 trial. To provide further data on the safety and effectiveness of atezolizumab and bevacizumab, the phase IIIb AMETHISTA (Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in METastatic HCC Italian Safety TriAl) ran in a Western (Italian) population of patients with advanced HCC.
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