Cepstral Measures of Voice in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Human larynx is highly susceptible to hormonal fluctuations, especially in sex hormones, can be expected to cause a change in voice. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is one such frequent abnormality of the endocrinal system that affect women during their reprod uctive age. Therefore, the current study
intended to document the cepstral measures of voice in subjects with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Thus, the study included two groups of subjects within the age range of 25-30 years. Group A included 30 female subjects having polycystic ovarian syndrome and Group B included 30 female subjects without polycystic ovarian syndrome. Voice of all the subjects was recorded, and the Smoothened Cepstral Peak Prominence and Cepstral Peak Prominence values were obtained. The obtained values were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Results revealed that the subjects of group B had significantly higher Cepstral Peak Prominence and Smoothened Cepstral Peak Prominence values compared to the subjects of group A. Significant difference in both Cepstral Peak Prominence and Smoothened Cepstral Peak Prominence between the three vowels were also evidenced from the results. Supplementary researches on the relationship between the hormonal levels and the cepstral parameters could help differentiate and better quantify voice problems in subjects with the polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Keywords – Cepstral measures, Cepstral Analysis, Cepstral Peak Prominence, Polycystic ovarian syndrome