PURPOSE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder 
that is underdiagnosed. OSA is usually diagnosed by polysomnography (PSG) and, 
if untreated, could lead to life-threatening complications. Many screening 
questionnaires have been developed to screen and identify patients at high risk 
for OSA. This study aimed to evaluate and validate the Arabic version of 
Stop-Bang questionnaire as a screening tool for patients with OSA symptoms 
referred to a sleep clinic.
METHODS: All referred Arabic-speaking adult patients presenting to a Sleep 
Disorders Specialized Clinic in Al Ain for PSG were requested to complete an 
Arabic STOP-Bang questionnaire. A score of 3 or more out of a possible 8 was 
taken to indicate high risk for presence of OSA. These scores were then 
evaluated versus results from the overnight, monitored PSG. Apnea/hypopnea index 
(AHI) of ≥5/h was considered for diagnosis of OSA.
RESULTS: One hundred ninety-three sleep clinic patients were enrolled in this 
study. PSG was positive (AHI ≥5) in 85 % of the studied population. STOP-Bang 
questionnaire was positive (≥3) in 87 % of the population. Reproducibility of 
STOP-Bang questionnaire was tested, and the intraclass correlation coefficient 
of the total score of STOP-Bang questionnaire was 0.931 (95 % CI 0.834-0.972). 
The sensitivities of the STOP-Bang screening tool for an AHI of ≥5, ≥15, and ≥30 
were 90, 96.75, and 99.70 %, respectively, with negative predictive values 
(NPVs) of 36, 84, and 92 %, respectively. ROC curve was 0.77.
CONCLUSION: The Arabic version of STOP-Bang questionnaire is an easy-to-use tool 
that can be implemented as a reliable, quick screening tool for OSA in patients 
referred to sleep clinic. It demonstrated high sensitivity and NPV especially 
for patients with moderate to severe OSA. We believe that this tool will help 
physicians to earlier identify cases at risk of OSA.