WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Significant changes in voice are observed during an exacerbation of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published online in ERJ Open Research.
Loes van Bemmel, Ph.D., from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study to examine whether or not the voice changes during an exacerbation and which voice features signify the onset of an exacerbation in a cohort of 73 patients (35 with asthma and 38 with COPD) with a mean age of 62 years. For three months, daily voice was collected at home on patients' own mobile devices. The time course of an exacerbation was captured simultaneously using the EXACT questionnaire.
Within the study period, 38 exacerbations were captured from 35 participants, most of which were mild and moderate in severity. The researchers found that at exacerbation onset, voice changes had already occurred, with a significant fixed effect for 13 features. There was a decrease in features such as the duration of sustained vowels and an increase in shimmer (irregularity of vocal fold vibrations) and noise-to-harmonics ratio, indicating deterioration of overall voice quality.
"We were able to capture these changes in the home environment of patients with asthma and COPD using an app on their own mobile phone," lead author Sami O. Simons, M.D., also from Maastricht University, said in a statement. "Our research suggests that in the future, people with asthma or COPD may use their voice to detect if they have an exacerbation and react accordingly."
