Abstract
Aim: In addition to sleep study, the self-administered questionnaires have been used to identify high-risk groups among the general population as they are more feasible than sleep studies. In the literature, the Berlin questionnaire was the most commonly used followed by Wisconsin sleep questionnaire, however, STOP and STOP-BANG questionnaires were recommended due to ease of use and higher methodological quality. This study aimed to identify high-risk group of OSA in the general population of Saudi Arabia and other important risk factors. Material and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted through the self-administered questionnaires distributed electronically among the general population in the Jazan region where 745 adult participants those living outside the Jazan region, or those with missing data were included. Data were collected anonymously through the STOP-BANG questionnaire and then coded. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentages as descriptive statistics, while Chi-Square was used to identify significant differences. The logistic regression was conducted to identify significant predictors for previously diagnosed OSA and any p-value less than 0.05 indicated significant differences. Results: Out of 745 valid questionnaires were included in the study, 51.4% were females and 48.6% were males. The body mass index indicated that about 52% of the respondents had elevated BMI and 22% were smokers. Based on the STOP-BANG questionnaire, 16.5% of the respondents were at a high risk of OSA. Among other reported risk factors, chronic sinusitis was the most common followed by tonsillitis with the prevalence of 23.4% and 16.9%, respectively. Significant associations between reported OSA and snoring, daytime tiredness, observed stop breathing during sleep, hypertension, BMI> 35 kg m-2, and age over than 50 years. The results of binary logistic regression demonstrated that the presence of hypertension and respiratory arrest observed by others during sleep are significant predictors for reported OSA. Discussion: The identification of a high-risk group of sleeping apnea using the STOB-BANG questionnaire was found valid and reliable. Arabic version of the STOB-BANG had a good internal consistency with 0.7 Cronbach's alpha, 98% sensitivity and 86% positive predictive value. We used 7-item questionnaire, after exclusion of neck circumferences question, since the vast majority of the respondents left this question blank.. Similarly, Alharthi et al. found only 12% response rate for the question of neck diameter in Taif city. Conclusions: It was concluded that a considerable percentage of the general population in Jazan region had a high risk of obstructive sleeping apnea based on the STOB-BANG questionnaire. Hypertension and respiratory arrest observed by others during sleep were significant predictors for diagnosed OSA.