300 Section - The relationship between frailty and voice characteristics in young Japanese women: A pilot study

Frailty, typically conceptualized as an age-related syndrome involving the deterioration of physical, psychological, and social functioning, has recently been recognized in younger populations. Establishing accessible and sensitive screening tools for the early detection of frailty in younger adults is therefore of growing importance. Phonation, which requires coordinated respiratory, phonatory, and articulatory function, may serve as an indicator of early physiological decline. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between voice characteristics and frailty-related indicators in young women by examining both objective phonatory measures and subjective voice handicaps.

Design: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving 24 women younger than 23 years. Sociodemographic variables, physical function parameters (handgrip strength, five-times sit-to-stand test (FTSST), and 6-m walking speed), and voice characteristics were collected. Maximum phonation time (MPT) and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) were measured as voice-related variables. Frailty was assessed using the 25-item Kihon Checklist (KCL), classifying participants into non-frail or prefrail groups. Relationships among variables were examined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.

Results:

Among participants, 21% met the criteria for prefrailty. There was no participants with frailty. Mean MPT was 9.78 ± 3.8 sec and mean VHI score was 4.25 ± 5.8. Higher KCL scores were significantly associated with poorer performance on the FTSST (r = 0.48, p < 0.05) and greater VHI score (r = 0.50, p < 0.05). No significant relationships were observed between KCL scores and MPT, handgrip strength, or walking speed.

Conclusion:  Prefrailty characteristics were observed even among young women, and VHI demonstrated a significant relationship with KCL. These findings suggest that voice-related assessments, particularly subjective voice evaluation, may have potential as a feasible and non-invasive adjunct tool for early frailty screening in younger populations.