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STOP-BANG Sleep Apnea Score Calculator

Answer the eight STOP-BANG questions to see your sleep apnoea risk band.

How it is calculated

The score is a simple count: each of the eight questions answered Yes adds 1 point, so score = number of Yes answers, from 0 to 8. The questions are loud snoring, daytime tiredness, observed pauses in breathing, high blood pressure (or treatment for it), BMI over 35, age over 50, neck circumference over 40 cm and male sex. The tool then sorts the total into a band: 0 to 2 is low risk, 3 to 4 is intermediate risk, 5 to 8 is high risk. A question left on its default counts as No, so an unanswered item lowers the score. All items weigh the same; the tool does not use extra rules that treat some combinations differently. The result is a screening estimate for obstructive sleep apnoea, not a diagnosis. Only a sleep study ordered by a clinician can confirm it, so a high score is a reason to talk to a doctor.

Worked example

A person snores loudly, feels tired in the day, has high blood pressure, is over 50 and is male. The other three answers are No (nobody has seen breathing pauses, BMI is not above 35, neck is not above 40 cm). Count the Yes answers: snoring 1, tired 2, blood pressure 3, age 4, sex 5. The score is 5 / 8, which falls in the 5 to 8 range, so the tool shows High risk and 5 positive answers.

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Common mistakes

  • Leaving a question on No because you do not know the answer, such as the observed-pauses question. An unknown answer counts as No and can hide a higher band; ask a bed partner.
  • Answering the BMI question with your weight or with a BMI of 30. The question is whether BMI is over 35.
  • Estimating neck size by collar size or by eye. The question is for a measured circumference of more than 40 cm, taken around the neck with a tape.
  • Treating a low score as proof that sleep apnoea is absent. Two or fewer Yes answers can still occur in a person who has it, and symptoms are worth raising whatever the number.
  • Answering the blood pressure question Yes only when it is currently high. The question also counts people who take treatment for high blood pressure.

Sources

About this calculator

STOP-BANG is an eight-item screening questionnaire, developed by anaesthesiologist Frances Chung and colleagues in 2008, used to estimate a person's risk of having obstructive sleep apnoea before it's been formally diagnosed. The name is an acronym for its eight yes/no items: Snoring, Tiredness during the day, Observed apnoea (someone noticing you stop breathing during sleep), high blood Pressure, BMI over 35, Age over 50, large Neck circumference, and male Gender. Each “yes” answer scores one point, and the total out of 8 sorts people into low, intermediate or high risk bands.

It was originally designed for use in pre-operative clinics, since undiagnosed sleep apnoea raises the risk of complications under anaesthesia and sedation, but it's now widely used more broadly as a fast, no-equipment first screen that helps decide who should be referred on for a proper sleep study before treatment.

Answer the eight STOP-BANG questions in this calculator and it totals your score and shows which risk band you fall into.

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