STOP-BANG questionnaire: sleep apnea risk screener
Answer 8 yes/no questions used by clinicians to screen for obstructive sleep apnea risk. This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis.
What STOP-BANG screens for
STOP-BANG is a validated 8-item questionnaire originally developed to identify patients at risk of obstructive sleep apnea before surgery, and now widely used as a general screening tool. Each "yes" answer adds a point, and your total score places you in a low, intermediate, or high risk band. It doesn't diagnose sleep apnea — only a sleep study, ordered by a doctor, can do that.
Source: 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. PubMed ↗
Frequently asked questions
What is STOP-BANG?
It's a validated 8-question screening tool clinicians use to estimate someone's risk of obstructive sleep apnea, based on snoring, tiredness, observed breathing pauses, blood pressure, BMI, age, neck size, and gender.
What does a high score mean?
A higher score means your answers place you in a higher-risk band on this screener — it doesn't mean you have sleep apnea. It's a sign worth discussing with a doctor, who may recommend a sleep study.
Is this a sleep apnea diagnosis?
No. STOP-BANG is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic test. Only a sleep study evaluated by a doctor can diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.
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