Reliability and validity of a Thai version of the Berlin questionnaire in patients with sleep disordered breathing

Abstract

Objective: To assess the validity and test-retest reliability of a Thai version of the Berlin Questionnaire in patients with sleep disorder breathing. Martial and Method: Patients who were suspected of sleep disordered breathing attending the outpatient department of Siriraj Hospital and who had undergone polysomnography were recruited and asked to complete a Thai version of the Berlin questionnaire. Each participant was asked to repeat the same questionnaire over the next 2-4 weeks for test-retest reliability. Results: One hundred and thirty-two patients completed the present study. The age range of the patients was 26-72 years (mean, 48.15±8.80 years). All 10 items of the Thai version of the Berlin questionnaire were moderately correlated in internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficient = 0.68). The test-retest reliability of the Thai version of the Berlin questionnaire was investigated in 98 patients and demonstrated a high degree of reliability in intra class correlation (ICC = 0.97). Conclusion: The present study reveals, for the first time, that the Thai version of the Berlin questionnaire has satisfactory validity and reliability when compared to the original English version.