A validation study on three screening questionnaires for obstructive sleep apnea in a Korean community sample.

Area of Science:

• Sleep Medicine
• Cardiovascular Health
• Diagnostic Tools

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent condition linked to severe cardiovascular issues.
• Effective screening tools are crucial for early detection, yet validation in general populations is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of three OSA screening questionnaires: Berlin Questionnaire (BQ), STOP-Bang Questionnaire (STOP-B), and Four-Variable Screening Tool (Four-V).
• To assess these tools within a Korean community sample.

Main Methods:

• 1148 participants completed the BQ, STOP-B, and Four-V questionnaires.
• Polysomnography (PSG) was performed on a subset of 116 participants.
• Key performance metrics including sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were calculated.

Main Results:

• The STOP-Bang Questionnaire demonstrated the highest Area Under the Curve (AUC) for both overall OSA (0.752) and moderate to severe OSA (0.750).
• The Four-Variable Screening Tool showed high sensitivity (≥8 cutoff) and specificity (≥9 cutoff).
• The Berlin Questionnaire exhibited the lowest predictive performance for OSA.

Conclusions:

• The STOP-Bang Questionnaire (STOP-B) is identified as the most effective screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea in the South Korean population.
• STOP-B offers a favorable balance of sensitivity and specificity for OSA screening.