Simple three-variable screening tool for identification of patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in middle-aged male snorers from Guangxi region: a multi-center study

To evaluate the correlation between three variables of neck circumference, body mass index (BMI) and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and the value of three-variable screening tool among snorers in Guangxi region. From May 2009 to June 2014, 2 955 middle-aged consecutive patients with snoring were recruited from four hospitals of Guangxi Province. All subjects underwent polysomnography (PSG) and physical examinations including neck circumference, BMI and ESS. The diffrences of neck circumference, BMI and ESS were compared between OSAHS and non-OSAHS groups; the correlation between apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and neck circumference, BMI and ESS were analyzed. The optimal cutoff point of three variables was selected by SPSS's Optimal Binning methods and screening score was assigned according to the Logistic regression coefficient. The recommended cutoff points were neck circumference ≥ 38.5 cm (3 points), BMI ≥ 25.7 kg/m(2) (5 points), ESS ≥ 9 points (1 point)