Effective Velopharyngeal Ratio: A More Clinically Relevant Measure of Velopharyngeal Function

Purpose: Velopharyngeal (VP) ratios are commonly used to study normal VP anatomy and normal VP function. An effective VP (EVP) ratio may be a more appropriate indicator of normal parameters for speech. The aims of this study are to examine if the VP ratio is preserved across the age span or if it va...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of speech, language, and hearing research language, and hearing research, 2020-11, Vol.63 (11), p.3586-3593
Main Authors: Haenssler, Abigail E, Fang, Xiangming, Perry, Jamie L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Adults
Age Differences
Age groups
Anatomy
Autism
Children
Cognitive Development
Congenital Impairments
Diagnosis
Human Body
Infants
Magnetic resonance imaging
Measurement Techniques
Physical Characteristics
Physiological aspects
Predicate
Speech
Speech disorders
Statistical analysis
Variables
Velopharyngeal insufficiency
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Summary:Purpose: Velopharyngeal (VP) ratios are commonly used to study normal VP anatomy and normal VP function. An effective VP (EVP) ratio may be a more appropriate indicator of normal parameters for speech. The aims of this study are to examine if the VP ratio is preserved across the age span or if it varies with changes in the VP portal and to analyze if the EVP ratio is more stable across the age span. Method: Magnetic resonance imaging was used to analyze VP variables of 270 participants. For statistical analysis, the participants were divided into the following groups based on age: infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Analyses of variance and a Games-Howell post hoc test were used to compare variables between groups. Results: There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in all measurements between the age groups. Pairwise comparisons reported statistically significant adjacent group differences (p < 0.05) for velar length, VP ratio, effective velar length, adenoid depth, and pharyngeal depth. No statistically significant differences between adjacent age groups were reported for the EVP ratio. Conclusions: Results from this study report the EVP ratio was not statistically significant between adjacent age groups, whereas the VP ratio was statistically significant between adjacent age groups. This study suggests that the EVP ratio is more correlated to VP function than the VP ratio and provides a more stable and consistent ratio of VP function across the age span.
ISSN:1092-4388
1558-9102
DOI:10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00305