Carla Jungquist, Suzanne Dickerson publish "Validation of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Sleep Questions" with several co-authors

Published March 29, 2016 This content is archived.

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Assistant Professor Carla Jungquist, Professor Suzanne Dickerson and Clinical Instructor Louis Pawlowski, along with several co-authors, including alumna Karen Kilingman (PhD '15), were published in March in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Their study, "Validation of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Sleep Questions," primarily aims to "to assess the validity of the current Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) sleep questions."

Jungquist C. R., Mund J., Aquilina A. T., Klingman K., Pender J., Ochs-Balcom H., van Wijngaarden E., & Dickerson S. S. (2016). Validation of the behavioral risk factor surveillance system sleep questions. J Clin Sleep Med, 12(3), 301–310. doi:10.5664/jcsm.5570

Abstract

Objective: Sleep problems may constitute a risk for health problems, including cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, poor work performance, and motor vehicle accidents. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the current Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) sleep questions by establishing the sensitivity and specificity for detection of sleep/ wake disturbance.

Methods: Repeated cross-sectional assessment of 300 community dwelling adults over the age of 18 who did not wear CPAP or oxygen during sleep. Reliability and validity testing of the BRFSS sleep questions was performed comparing to BFRSS responses to data from home sleep study, actigraphy for 14 days, Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and PROMIS-57.

Results: Only two of the five BRFSS sleep questions were found valid and reliable in determining total sleep time and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Conclusions: Refinement of the BRFSS questions is recommended.