{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T13:33:02Z","timestamp":1785418382103,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,25]],"date-time":"2025-11-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764028800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Functional voice disorders (FVDs) result from inefficient vocal use without an organic cause and have an underreported incidence.\nObjectives:\u00a0This study aimed to investigate the incidence and nature of FVDs among treatment-seeking patients at a private interdisciplinary voice clinic in Pretoria, South Africa.\nMethod:\u00a0A retrospective quantitative design was used to analyse data from 86 patients diagnosed with FVDs between January 2017 and July 2022. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied.\nResults:\u00a0The incidence rate of FVDs was 16.67% among 516 patients with voice disorders. The primary diagnosis was muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), affecting 80.2% of cases. The most common secondary diagnosis was laryngeal pharyngeal reflux (LPR) at 39.5%. Hoarseness was the most reported symptom. No significant differences were found between occupational and non-occupational voice users.\nConclusion:\u00a0The findings clarify the incidence and nature of FVDs in the South African context.\nContribution:\u00a0It underscores the need for greater awareness of FVDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as well as future research on prevention and management strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/sajcd.v72i1.1117","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,21]],"date-time":"2025-11-21T08:38:30Z","timestamp":1763714310000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Incidence and nature of functional voice disorders"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"72","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-2504-2408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yusra M.","family":"Bhaila","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00g0p6g84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Pretoria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8706-6605","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeannie","family":"van der Linde","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00g0p6g84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Pretoria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9429-3200","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen","family":"Milton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00g0p6g84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Pretoria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4071-9864","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marien A.","family":"Graham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00g0p6g84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Pretoria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abraham, Z.S., & Kahinga, A.A. 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