Assessing STOP-Bang Questionnaire Sensitivity and Specificity for Sleep Apnea Detection in Iraqi Adults

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep-related breathing disorder that can lead to severe health complications if left untreated. The STOP-Bang questionnaire, developed in Canada, is a widely used screening tool for OSA. However, the applicability of this tool in different populations, including the Iraqi population, requires further examination due to ethnic and physiological variations, particularly regarding body mass index (BMI). Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the STOP-Bang questionnaire in detecting OSA among the Iraqi population and to determine whether adjusting the BMI cut-off value could improve its accuracy. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Khanzad Teaching Hospital in Erbil, Iraq, between January 2022 and December 2023. A total of 500 adult patients (aged 18-60 years) who reported sleep-related