Abstract

Objective: To translate and evaluate the STOP-BANG Questionnaire in urdu speaking population.
Methodology: This validation study was conducted at Dow University of Health Sciences, Ojha Campus, Karachi, Pakistan. STOP-BANG Questionnaire (SBQ) was translated into urdu using standard method. Final approved version of SBQ-Urdu was applied to bilingual individuals to assess the validity. All recruited subjects were students and employees.
Results: Of the 150 participants, data of 135 (90%) was available for final analysis. There were 77 (57%) females and 58 (43%) males. The average scores of both SBQ-English and SBQ-Urdu were 1.32±0.83 (p˂0.000) and 1.33±0.84 (p˂0.000), respectively. Statistically significant correlation was found between the original SBQ-English and translated SBQ-Urdu (Spearman’s rho 0.951; p˂0.000).
Conclusions: The SBQ-Urdu is reproducible. Thus, it is an effective tool to be utilized in urdu speaking population to stratify population at risk of obstructive sleep apnea. It is recommended that urdu version of the SBQ should be applied in population with sleep disorders to further elaborate its validity.

Key words: STOP-BANG Questionnaire; obstructive sleep apnea; urdu version; validation study