Standardized List Evaluating Apnea (SLEAP): A Comprehensive Survey to Define the Quality of Life in OSA.

Abstract

Objective: To develop and validate a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Study design: A prospective cohort study.

Settings: Tertiary referral center.

Methods: We developed a 15-item English questionnaire that was administered to 176 adults with OSA and 22 adult controls without symptoms of OSA in a tertiary sleep surgery clinic between June 2021 and December 2021. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were measured using the Cronbach's α and the intraclass correlation coefficient, respectively. The 2-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test was applied to compare the 2 groups. Convergent validity of the test scores of the questionnaire was compared to previously validated outcome measures and objective sleep study outcomes using the Spearman correlation coefficient.

Results: Of the 198 respondents (176 cases and 22 controls); 71% were men and 29% were women. The internal consistency was excellent with the α of .92 (lower 95% confidence limit of 0.90). All the test-retest correlations were positive, significant, and strong ranging from 0.50 to 0.90. The differences between cases and controls were statistically significant for all the items and for the total score. The total score of the questionnaire with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and objective OSA measures was moderate to strong.

Conclusions and relevance: The new tool provides a validated PROM to evaluate the QoL among OSA patients specifically, with excellent internal consistency, reasonable test-retest reliability, discriminant validity, and construct validity.

Level of evidence: Level 4.