Objective: To investigate the value of Berlin questionnaire in screening obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) among Chinese.
Methods: A total of 302 cases with suspected OSAHS were referred to our sleep laboratory. The Berlin questionnaire scores and polysomnography (PSG) monitoring data were analyzed. According to the Berlin questionnaire score, the patients were divided into high and lower risk groups for OSAHS. In terms of the PSG monitoring results, the patients were classified into non-OSAHS, mild, moderate and severe OSAHS groups. The age, gender, apnea hypopnea index (AHI), body mass index, and the Berlin questionnaire (BQ) result were compared among the 4 groups. The correlation of Berlin questionnaire result with age, AHI, the lowest SpO2 (LSpO2) and microarousal index (MAI) were analyzed.
Results: There were significant differences in the Berlin questionnaire results among non-OSAHS and the other 3 groups (χ(2) = 13.961, 8.466, 42.156, P < 0.0083); and between the severe OSAHS and the other 2 groups (χ(2) = 9.439, 11.162, P < 0.0083). There was no statistical difference between the mild and moderate groups (P > 0.0083). The ratio of the high BQ risk patients had an increasing tendency as the severity of OSAHS was increased (χ(2) = 34.211, P < 0.01). The Berlin questionnaire results showed a positive correlation with age, AHI or MAI (r = 0.125, 0.346, 0.198, all P < 0.05, respectively) but a negative correlation with LSpO2 (r = -0.371, P < 0.01). The Berlin questionnaire results showed no correlation with gender (P > 0.05). The sensitivity and the specificity of the Berlin questionnaire in predicting sleep apnea were 0.71 and 0.72, respectively.
Conclusions: With the moderate sensitivity and the specificity, the Berlin questionnaire has some value in screening patients with OSAHS. However, it is not correlated with the severity of OSAHS in Chinese patients. Thus Berlin questionnaire has limited value in the screening of OSAHS among Chinese.