Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Vol. 3, No.

3, 1974

The Effects of Smoking on the Speaking

Fundamental Frequency of Adult Women

Harvey R. Gilbert I and Gary G. Weismer 1,2

Received February 5, 19 74

The present study sought to investigate the effects of smoking on the speaking
fundamental frequency o f adult women. The results indicated that, in the reading
condition, fundamental frequency for the smokers was significantly lower than funda-
mental frequency for the nonsmokers. Eighty-seven percent of the smokers examined by
an otolaryngologist exhibited some abnormality in appearance of the vocal folds. The
results also suggest that menopause may contribute to a lowering of the speaking
fundamental frequency of adult women.

INTRODUCTION

Within recent years, much interest has been focused on the detrimental effects
of cigarette smoking and its contribution to laryngeal cancer. In the past,
acoustical analyses, specifically fundamental frequency measures, have been
used to reflect the state of the laryngeal mechanism (Rees, 1958; Lieberman,
1963; Wendahl, 1963; Bowler, 1964; Shipp and Huntington, 1965; Hecker and
Kruel, 1971). Hecker and Kruel (1971) have shown that laryngeal cancer
alters such fundamental frequency measures as maximum rate of change of

This research was based on a Master's thesis at The Pennsylvania State University and was
supported in part by a grant from the College of Education.
IThe Pennsylvania State University Speech and Hearing Clinic, University Paxk, Pennsyl-
vania.
2present address: Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, Wisconsin.

225

9 1974 Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011. No
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in a n y f o r m or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, record-
ing, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
226 Gilbert and Weismer

fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency perturbations, and the fre-

quency distribution of fundamental frequency.
Another measure which has often been used to assess the condition of
the larynx has been the speaking fundamental frequency of the human voice.
Researchers who have studied speaking fundamental frequency have focused,
generally, on the effects of age and vocal pitch (Curry, 1940; Fairbanks, 1942;
Fairbanks et al., 1949a, b; Snidecor, 1951; Linke, 1953; Duffy, 1958; McGlone
and Hollien, 1963; Hollien et al., 1965; Michel et al., 1966; Saxman and Burk,
1967; Weinberg and Zlatin, 1970; Hollien and Shipp, 1972). A review of the
literature currently available on fundamental frequency has indicated that
there is a paucity of information concerning smoking and its effect on the
laryngeal mechanism before any indication of a pathological condition is
apparent.
As a consequence, a study designed to investigate the effects of smoking
on speaking fundamental frequency, specifically in women, would contribute
to our knowledge of the prepathological state of the larynx and would also,
indirectly, provide additional data concerning age and vocal pitch in women
between the ages of 30 and 54. The purpose of the present study, accord-
ingly, was to investigate the effects of smoking on the speaking fundamental
frequency of a group of adult women.

METHOD

Subjects

Thirty female adults, ranging in age from 30 to 54 years, participated as

subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups. One group consisted of
15 women who smoked in excess of one pack of cigarettes a day for at least
15 years. The second group consisted of 15 women who had never smoked
cigarettes. The nonsmokers were matched to the smokers by age, height, and
weight. All subjects conformed to the following criteria: no undue vocal
abuse, no history of hormone injections (virilizing agents), no history of
having taken birth control pills, normal intelligence, no speech or voice
defects, no excessive drinking, no history of emotional problems, and no
hearing loss.

Instrumentation

The speech samples were recorded on an Ampex AG 500-2 tape

recorder in conjunction with a Cardioid unidirectional model 803 micro-
Effects of Smokingon Speaking Fundamental Frequency of Women 227

phone. The microphone used for recording speech samples was kept at a
constant mouth-to-microphone distance of 12 inches. The recorded speech
sample was applied to a Honeywell model 120 Accudata DC amplifier.
Amplified speech signals then provided excitation to a Honeywell model
M16-50 light-beam galvanometer, and a graphic portrayal of the speech signal
was written out on the Honeywell model 1508 Visicorder. The visicorder
writeout displayed the speech waves in permanent oscillographic form on
light-sensitive paper. It was then possible to determine the wave period in
relation to the duration of the sample from this writeout. A fundamental
frequency program developed at Purdue University (Montgomery, 1967) was
used to extract a period of the sample in relation to the duration of the
sample.
Fundamental frequency measures for four subjects were calculated for
all sentences in the first paragraph of "The Rainbow Passage" (Fairbanks,
1960). The analysis indicated that values derived from any sentence in that
first paragraph were representative of values derived from any other sentence.
In order to assure that a typical and continuous speech pattern was firmly
established for the reading condition, the fourth sentence of "The Rainbow
Passage" was chosen for data analysis. Finally, any 3 see of connected
discourse in the spontaneous speaking condition was chosen for data analysis.

Procedure

Subjects who met all the selection criteria were administered a laryngeal
examination by an otolaryngologist serving on the staff of The Pennsylvania
State University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The general appearance of the
vocal folds as seen through a laryngeal mirror was described and noted for
each subject. All recordings were then made in an acoustically isolated test
suite.
Each subject was given an opportunity to read the first paragraph of
"The Rainbow Passage" prior to the recording session. The speech samples
were produced at what each subject estimated to be her normal conversational
pitch, loudness, and rate levels. The reading from the first paragraph of "The
Rainbow Passage" was produced initially followed by an impromptu descrip-
tion of a selected picture.

RESULTS

The mean fundamental frequency values, standard deviations, and ranges

for the smoking and nonsmoking groups within the two speaking conditions
228 Gilbert and Weismer

Table I. Mean Fundamental Frequency, Range, and Standard Deviation for the
Smokers and Nonsmokers Within Two Speaking Conditions

Rainbow Spontaneous
Group N Passage speaking
Smokers 15 Mean frequency (Hz) 163.75 168.11
Frequency range (Hz) 113.73-224.42 103.09-235.04
SD (tones) 3.26 3.80
Nonsmokers 15 Mean frequency (Hz) 182.80 176.40
Frequency range ( H z ) 151.59-246.20 154.32-219.84
SD (tones) 2.36 1.70
i

are presented in Table I. As seen in Table I, mean fundamental frequency

values for the smoking group were 19.05 Hz and 8.29 Hz lower than values
for the nonsmoking group in the reading and spontaneous speaking conditions,
respectively. T tests 3 for matched groups were used to evaluate the apparent
differences between the smokers and nonsmokers. Results indicated that, in
the reading condition, fundamental frequency values for the smokers were
significantly lower than fundamental frequency values for the nonsmokers
(matched controls). Differences observed in the spontaneous speaking con-
dition were not found to be statistically significant.
Results of the laryngeal examinations for each subject revealed that 87%
of the smokers examined exhibited some abnormality in appearance of the
vocal folds. Generally, this abnormality consisted of a diffuse thickening of
the vocal folds or an edematous condition within the larynx. Laryngeal
examinations obtained from the nonsmoking subjects indicated that only 7%
of the examined subjects showed some evidence of laryngeal abnormality.

DISCUSSION

Results of the laryngeal examinations obtained from the nonsmoking

subjects indicated that only 7% of the examined subjects showed some
evidence of laryngeal abnormality. These findings are lower than data reported
by Auerbach et al. (1970) who found that 25% of their nonsmoking subjects
presented some evidence of laryngeal abnormality.
However, of greater interest are the findings which indicate that
fundamental frequency values of women in the smoking group were well

3The 0.05 level of confidence was used in all statistical tests.

Effects of Smoking on Speaking Fundamental Frequency of Women 229

below the normative data reported in the literature for adult females
(Snidecor, 1951; Linke, 1953; McGlone and Hollien, 1963; Michel et al.,
1966; Saxman and Burk, 1967). The low fundamental frequencies may be
explained by the pathological condition which existed within the larynges of
87% of the smokers. Information obtained from the laryngeal examinations in
the present study generally supports the findings of Auerbach et al. (1970),
who reported a thickening of the vocal folds in males which was directly
related to the amount of cigarettes smoked. It appears that the low
fundamental frequency values obtained for the female smokers may be

Table II. A Comparison of Fundamental Frequency Values for Premenopausal

Smokers and Nonsmokers Obtained in the Present Study with Results Reported
by Saxman and Burk (1967)

Rainbow Spontaneous
Investigators Group N Passage speaking

Present Mean fre-

study Nonsmokers, quency (Hz) 190.91 182.87
premenopause 10 Frequency
(30-54 years) range (Hz) 151.59-246.20 156.48-219.84
SD (tones) 3.03 1.72
Mean fre-
Smokers, quency (Hz) 168.12 171.08
premenopause 10 Frequency
(30-54 years) range (Hz) 113.73-224.42 103.09-235.04
SD (tones) 3.60 4.26

Saxman and Mean fre-

Burk quency ( H z ) 196.34
(1967) 30-40 years 9 Frequency
range (Hz) 171.14-221.75
SD (tones) 1.23
Mean fre-
quency ( H z ) 188.58
40-50 years 9 Frequency
range (Hz) 168.48-208.26
SD (tones) 1.38
Mean fre-
quency ( H z ) 192.47
Total Frequency
30-50 years range (Hz) 168.48-221.75
SD (tones) 1.30
230 Gilbert and Weismer

attributed to a thickening of the vocal folds and connective tissue due to

smoking.
Also noted in Table I was that fundamental frequency values for women
in the nonsmoking group appeared to be lower than previously reported
normative data. An explanation for the low fundamental frequency values
may be that postmenopausal women were included in the smoking and
nonsmoking groups. When the subjects who had undergone menopause are
excluded from the nonsmoking group, results are in general agreement with
fundamental frequency data reported by Saxman and Burk (1967) (see Table
II). Although the purpose of the present investigation was not to study the
effects of menopause, it is suggested that menopause may lower fundamental
frequency. An increase in the testosterone-estrogen ratio associated with
menopause may act as a virilizing agent to alter the tissue structure of the
larynx and vocal folds and contribute to a lowering of fundamental frequency.
Saxman and Burk (1967) have suggested that fundamental frequency may
decrease from young adulthood through middle age before it rises again during
old age. The decrease in fundamental frequency noted by Saxman and Burk
(1967) may be attributed, in part, to menopause.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Dr. Leonard Zimmerman, Otolaryngologist

on the staff of The Pennsylvania State University Speech and Hearing Clinic.

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