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STOP-Bang Questionnaire for Sleep Apnoea

Screening for obstructive sleep apnoea, often used before surgery.

For healthcare professionalsRespiratoryv1.0.1

For healthcare professionals / clinical use. Not a self-diagnosis tool.

Your measurements

years
Sex
Snoring loudly (heard through closed doors or bed partner elbows you)
Often tired, fatigued or sleepy during the day
Someone observed you stop breathing, choke or gasp during sleep
High blood pressure (treated or not)
BMI more than 35
Neck circumference more than 40 cm

Calculated on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.

Your result will appear here

Enter your measurements, then press Calculate.

Methodology

STOP-Bang (Chung 2008, 2016)

One point each: Snoring, Tired, Observed apnoea, Pressure, BMI > 35, Age > 50, Neck > 40 cm, male Gender

Scores of 3–4 need further criteria; Chung 2016 gives a BMI over 35 together with 2 or more positive items as an example of high risk.

Who it is for
Adults being screened for obstructive sleep apnoea.
Version
1.0.1

How this calculator works

Where the formula comes from

  • Chung and colleagues (2008) developed the four-item STOP questionnaire in 2,467 preoperative patients and validated it against polysomnography in 177 of them.[1]
  • Adding BMI, age, neck circumference and gender (STOP-Bang) raised sensitivity to 83.6%, 92.9% and 100% for AHI above 5, 15 and 30.[1]

The inputs

  • STOP-Bang has eight yes/no items scoring 1 point each (0–8): scores of 0–2 are low risk and 5–8 high risk for moderate to severe OSA; scores of 3–4 need further criteria.[2]
  • A score of 3 or more had 93% sensitivity for moderate to severe OSA and 100% for severe OSA in the data summarised in 2016.[2]

Where accuracy falls (published evidence)

  • A 2015 meta-analysis across populations found high sensitivity but low specificity.[3]

What guidelines say

  • The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2017) recommends that questionnaires and clinical prediction tools not be used to diagnose OSA in adults without polysomnography or home sleep apnoea testing.[4]

Sources

  1. Chung F, Yegneswaran B, Liao P, et al. STOP questionnaire: a tool to screen patients for obstructive sleep apnea. Anesthesiology. 2008;108(5):812–821. doi:10.1097/ALN.0b013e31816d83e4
  2. Chung F, Abdullah HR, Liao P. STOP-Bang questionnaire: a practical approach to screen for obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 2016;149(3):631–638. doi:10.1378/chest.15-0903
  3. Nagappa M, Liao P, Wong J, et al. Validation of the STOP-Bang questionnaire as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea among different populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2015;10(12):e0143697. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143697
  4. Kapur VK, Auckley DH, Chowdhuri S, et al. Clinical practice guideline for diagnostic testing for adult obstructive sleep apnea: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(3):479–504. doi:10.5664/jcsm.6506

Compiled from the published sources above. Every statement was agreed independently by three AI research tools (Claude, ChatGPT, DeepSeek) and its source verified in PubMed or Crossref by the Hakeemly editorial team. Not reviewed by a doctor unless stated. Agreed on

Worked example: how to calculate STOP-Bang

Inputs

Age
56 years
Sex
Male
Snoring loudly (heard through closed doors or bed partner elbows you)
Yes
High blood pressure (treated or not)
Yes
Neck circumference more than 40 cm
Yes

Result

STOP-Bang
5 of 8

5–8: high risk of moderate to severe OSA

An illustration with sample values, worked out with the same method the tool above uses.

Limitations

  • A screening tool, not a diagnosis: sleep apnoea is confirmed by a sleep study.

References

  1. Chung F, Yegneswaran B, Liao P, et al. STOP questionnaire: a tool to screen patients for obstructive sleep apnea. Anesthesiology. 2008;108(5):812–821. doi:10.1097/ALN.0b013e31816d83e4
  2. Chung F, Abdullah HR, Liao P. STOP-Bang questionnaire: a practical approach to screen for obstructive sleep apnea. Chest. 2016;149(3):631–638. doi:10.1378/chest.15-0903

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