Validation of the Arabic version of the sleep apnea scale of the sleep disorders questionnaire SDQ-SA

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a widespread syndrome characterized by breathing cessation or reduction. It has a wide range of significant symptoms, such as snoring and fatigue. This study aimed to assess the validity of the Arabic version of the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire-Sleep Apnea Scale (SDQ-SA) as a screening tool in Arabic-speaking countries. Methods This study was conducted at a sleep disorders clinic at Damascus University’s hospitals from June 2023 to September 2023. Patients aged 18 to 75 who spoke Arabic were included, while those under 18 or over 75, with incomplete questionnaires, previous OSA diagnoses, or certain chronic diseases and sedative drug use were excluded. The questionnaire was translated into the Arabic language by two bilingual researchers. It was then given to around 15 patients to ensure clarity of the questions. The questionnaire was readministered to 30 participants to ensure reliability. After analyzing the results of the Arabic version of the SDQ-SA, we administered Polysomnography (PSG) type III tests to validate our results. Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS version 22. Results The study included 103 participants, with an average age of 56.55 years. The SDQ-SA identified 85 (82.5%) participants as being at high risk for having OSA. Among those classified as high risk, 39 (45.9%) had severe OSA, 34 (40%) had moderate OSA, 8 (9.4%) had mild OSA, and 4 (4.7%) had no OSA based on the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) calculated by the PSG. On the other hand, 18 (17.5%) participants were classified as low risk for OSA, 3 (16.7%) had severe OSA, 3 (16.7%) had moderate OSA, 7 (38.9%) had mild OSA, and 5 (27.8%) had no OSA based on the AHI calculated by the PSG. For AHI ≥ 5, the sensitivity and specificity for men were 0.87 and 0.6, respectively, and for women, they were 0.84 and 0.5, respectively. Conclusion Our study showed that the Arabic version of the SDQ-SA questionnaire had good sensitivity and negative predictive value NPV, especially for patients with moderate to severe OSA. We recommend that physicians use this questionnaire and other similar questionnaires more frequently to identify and treat this underrecognized disease properly.