Self-perception of swallowing by patients with benign nonsurgical thyroid disease.

Purpose: To verify the frequency of swallowing complaints in patients with benign nonsurgical thyroid disease and compare the self-perception of swallowing disorder intensity between different types of thyroid disease.

Methods: The study sample comprised 39 women aged 19-58 years (38.54 ± 10.74) with hypothyroidism (n=22; 56.4%) or thyroid nodules (n=17; 43.6%). Presence and type of swallowing complaint and self-perception of swallowing disorder intensity were investigated by means of self-ratings recorded on a 100-millimeter visual analog scale. The data were analyzed by descriptive measures and the Mann-Whitney nonparametric test was used to compare the self-perception of swallowing disorder intensity between both clinical diagnoses of thyroid disease. The level of 5% was adopted for statistical significance.

Results: Twenty-six (66.7%) individuals reported the following swallowing complaints: pharyngolaryngeal stasis sensation (37.15%), chocking (34.29%), and odynophagia (28.57%). The mean value of self-perception of swallowing disorder intensity by the visual analog scale was 59.35 (± 27.38) millimeters. No difference in self-perception was reported between the clinical diagnoses of thyroid disease.

Conclusion: In this sample, swallowing complaint was frequently observed in patients with benign nonsurgical thyroid disease. Moderate self-perception of swallowing disorder intensity was reported regardless of the clinical diagnosis of thyroid disease.