Abstract
The increased number of people complaining of poor sleep puts a strain on health services where many doctors have neither the time or experience to deal with sleep problems. While it seems that we are good at offering potential solutions to the perceived problem of poor sleep, sleep questionnaires have historically not been written from the general public point of view, and often not easily accessible. The SleepHubs Check-up (SHC) is a 4–6 question device-based questionnaire designed for use by the layman as it is quick and easy to complete and focuses on three categories commonly associated with poor sleep: daytime sleepiness, snoring, and insomnia. Based on the results of the SHC, individuals are assigned into one of three categories: Probable good sleeper – no need to worry further, Possible reasonable sleeper but room for some improvement, possible sleep health issue, clinically relevant, further investigation required.
We undertook a pilot study to engage adults in the SleepHubs Check-up. The responses to the questions were automatically scored and individually weighted. The scores were compared with that of the Insomnia severity Index (ISI), Stop Bang and OSA probability based on the MAP index (MAPI).
One hundred adults (55% female) with an average age of 43 years and average BMI of 26.4 Kg/m2 were recruited. Statistical analysis showed a positive correlation (>80%) between SHC and probability of Insomnia using the Insomnia severity Index. Additionally, the SHC score accurately identified individuals at risk of OSA when compared to Stop Bang and MAPI scores.
The SleepHubs Check-up assignment and categorisation criteria has shown to be effective and it is proposed could act as an instrument for use in both research and as a screening tool for clinicians in the health care environment enabling quick identification and assignment of individuals that may have a sleep issue.
