Quality of Life, Dysphagia, Voice Problems, Depression, and Anxiety After Total Laryngectomy

 Wulff and colleagues of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark,  determine the  health-related quality of life , including voice problems, dysphagia, depression, and anxiety after total laryngectomy, and investigate the associations between health-related quality of life  and the late effects. Included were 172 participants having undergone a laryngectomy 1.6 to 18.1 years ago for laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer.  

Participants scored worse than normative reference populations on all scales/items except one. Moderate/severe dysphagia was present in 46%, moderate/severe voice problems in 57%, depression in 16%, and anxiety in 20%. Decreasing age, increasing numbers of comorbidities, increasing voice problems, increasing dysphagia, and increasing depression symptoms, were associated with a lowered  summary score.

The authors concluded that a substantial proportion of participants experienced clinically significant late effects and increasing levels of these were associated with a lowered health-related quality of life.