Screening of Sleep Apnoea in Middle-aged Hypertensive Subjects Using Stop - Bang Questionnaire - An Observational Study

Aims: The aim of this study was to screen the middle-aged hypertensive subjects for Obstructive sleep apnoea.

Objectives: To screen for sleep apnoea in middle-aged hypertensive subjects using STOP- BANG questionnaire.

Method: 100 subjects from KLE's Prabhakar Kore hospital and KLE's Ayurveda hospital were recruited in the study. These subjects were screened for hypertension and those fulfilling the inclusion criteria were given the informed consent and the data sheet to be filled. The data sheet included the STOP - BANG questionnaire.

Results: Out of the 100 subjects screened, 50 were males and 50 females. 18% of the subjects were at low risk of having Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and 82% of them were at high risk of having OSA. As per the gender, 58% of the females and 72% of the males were at high risk and 42% of the females and 28% of the males were at low risk of having OSA. As per the age, there were 64 subjects who above the age of 50 and 36 subjects who were below the age of 50.There were 9 subjects above the age of 50 years and 9 subjects below the age of 50 years who were at low risk of having OSA and 55 of them who were above 50 years and 27 of them who were below the age of 50 years were at high risk of having OSA. There was no significant difference between the different religions or ethnic groups. Among the different occupations, there was a significant difference showing that the housewives were at higher risk of having OSA.

Conclusion: From this study, we concluded that the hypertensive subjects are at the risk of having sleep apnoea. Significance was seen only in occupational group, in which the housewives were at higher risk of having sleep apnoea.Thus, we concluded that the STOP-BANG questionnaire used in this study is a useful and reliable tool for screening OSA in hypertensives.