Sleep Studies

OSA50 Questionnaire

The OSA50 questionnaire was developed by a group of Australian sleep medicine researchers who aimed to create a brief, four-item OSA screening tool for use in general practice. They established that the four items that best predicted a diagnosis of severe OSA (ie AHI ≥30 events/hour) were:

1. obesity (by waist circumference)

2. snoring

3.  witnessed apneas

4. age ≥50 years.

Weightings from results of logistic regression analyses were used to create a simple screening tool with a maximum score of 10 points. An OSA50 score ≥5 points was found in a validation sample to have 94% sensitivity, with 31% specificity for identifying moderate-to-severe OSA.
 

Table 1. OSA50 questionnaire                                                                    If yes, score

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Obesity/Waist circumference* (>102 cm for males or >88 cm for females)         3

Snoring - Has your snoring ever bothered other people?                                    3

Apnoeas - Has anyone noticed that you stop breathing during your sleep?      2

50 - Are you aged 50 years or over?                                                                    2

                                                                                                  Total score…… / 10 points

​

*Waist measurement to be measured at the level of the umbilicus (males 102 cm = size 40 [inches] and females 88 cm = size 16)

Ref: Chai-Coetzer CL, Antic NA, Rowland LS, et al. A simplified model of screening questionnaire and home monitoring for obstructive sleep apnoea in primary care. Thorax 2011;66(3):213–19. doi: 10.1136/thx.2010.152801.