This paper will provide a review of aspects of vocal aging within the context of general body aging and describe two data sets related to the aging voice. Data will be presented which document pre- to posttreatment improvement in select voice characteristics (sound pressure level, subglottal air pressure, thyroarytenoid laryngeal muscle activity and voice quality) following application of an intensive voice treatment program (the LSVT^®) to 3 individuals with aged voice. Additionally, physiological data (forced expiratory volume, visual accommodation, bone density, taste discrimination, white blood count and resting heart rate) and select perceptual (perceived age) and acoustic measures (reflecting both cycle-to-cycle and longer-term intensity and frequency stability) from 67 subjects will be reviewed from the work of Gray and colleagues to document the differential impact of the global aging process across organ systems including the aging voice.

The present cross-sectional study evaluated the associations between anxiety sensitivity, intensity of retrospectively-rated nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and motivation to quit smoking. Participants were 127 young adult (mean age 20.4 years (SD 4.6)) regular smokers (mean cigarettes per day 10.2 (SD 5.1)). Anxiety sensitivity predicted intensity of retrospectively rated withdrawal symptoms during the first week of the most recent quit attempt as well as concurrent and lifetime indices of motivation to quit smoking even after controlling for theoretically-relevant smoking (e.g. nicotine dependence) and affect (e.g. panic attack history) factors. These results are discussed in relation to better understanding panic-related vulnerability factors in smoking cessation.

Reduced levels of TA muscle activity may contribute to the characteristic hypophonic voice disorders that frequently accompany IPD and aging.

This study examined the effect of aging on respiratory and laryngeal mechanisms involved in vocal loudness control. Simultaneous measures of subglottal pressure and electromyographic (EMG) activity from the thyroarytenoid (TA), lateral cricoarytenoid (LCA), and cricothyroid (CT) muscles were investigated in young and old individuals while they attempted to phonate at three loudness levels, "soft," "comfortable," and "loud." Voice sound pressure level (SPL) and fundamental frequency (F ) measures were also obtained. Across loudness conditions, subglottal pressure levels were similar for both age groups. Laryngeal EMG measures tended to be lower and more variable for old compared with young individuals. These differences were most apparent for the TA muscle. Finally, across the three loudness conditions, the old individuals generated SPLs that were lower overall than those produced by the young individuals but modulated loudness levels in a manner similar to that of the young subjects. These findings suggest that the laryngeal mechanism may be more affected than the respiratory system in these old individuals and that these changes may affect vocal loudness levels.

Objective-To examine first-year results from a workplace environmental obesity prevention program at The Dow Chemical Company.Methods-A quasi-experimental cohort study was conducted among employees at nine treatment worksites (n=8,013) who received environmental weight management interventions and three control worksites (n=2,269). Changes in employees' weight, body mass index (BMI), and other health risks were examined using chi-square and t-tests.Results-After one year, a modest treatment effect was observed for weight and BMI largely because the control group subjects gained weight; however, no effect was observed for overweight * Corresponding Conclusions-Environmental changes to the workplace can achieve modest improvements in employees' health risks, including weight and BMI measures, in one year.