January - March 2022, Volume 18, Issue 1

Protasiewicz Timofticiuc DC, Vladu IM, Stefan AG, Fortofoiu MC, Mitrea A, Fortofoiu M, Mota M

Stop-Bang Questionnaire – an Easy Tool for Identifying Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Acta Endo (Buc) 2022, 18 (1): 49-57
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2022.49

Background. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared to the general population. Our study aims to analyze the usefulness of the STOP-BANG score, tool which was not yet validated in patients with diabetets, as a tool that estimates the severity of OSA, in patients with T2DM. Methods. 120 patients, who answered the STOPBANG questionnaire and underwent polysomnography, were included in the study. The patients were divided into 3 groups, depending on the severity of OSA, defined by the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI). Results. A significant percentage of participants (42.1%) had a severe form of OSA (AHI ≥30) and a high percentage of subjects had a STOP-BANG score ≥5 (58.7%), equivalent to a severe form of the disease. The STOP-BANG score increased proportionally with AHI (p<0.001). The area under the ROC curve for the STOP-Bang score indicated an optimal cut-off value of 4.5, with a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 62.9% (p <0.001), STOP-BANG score ≥5 being an independent predictor for severe OSA in patients with T2DM. Conclusions. The STOP-BANG score can be used in patients with diabetes to detect severe OSA in order to establish appropriate therapeutic measures.

Keywords: obstructive sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes mellitus, polysomnography, STOP-BANG score

Correspondence: Mircea-Catalin Fortofoiu, Professor, MD, PhD, MSc, Internal Medicine Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 2, Petru Rares Street, 200349, Craiova, Dolj, Romania, E-mail: catalin.fortofoiu@umfcv.ro