Validity of a novel excessive daytime sleepiness’ screening stool : the Yaoundé Sleepiness Score

Study objective This study aimed to assess the validity of the Yaoundé Sleepiness Scale (YSS), a new tool for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) screening, using Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) as reference. Methodology A 6-item questionnaire was assessed for content validity (based on sleep physiology, face validity (by 4 sleep specialists), criterion and construct validity (in a cross-sectional study led in Lille University Hospital). For criterion validity, we used Pearson correlation, area under the receiver operator characteristics (AUROC) curve and a graphical method to find the YSS thresholds. We performed a simple linear regression to seek the association between YSS and EDS predictors for construct validity. Results A total of 566 patients (mean age = 53.1 ± 14.6 years, female = 47%) were enrolled. The mean YSS and ESS were 9.8 ± 4.7 and 9.1 ± 5.3, respectively. The Pearson correlation between YSS and ESS was 0.74% (p<0.0001). The AUROC curves (95% confidence interval, 95CI) for ESS- based EDS and severe EDS prediction were 0.856 (0.829 – 0.889) and 0.871 (0.829 – 0.913), respectively. The YSS thresholds for EDS and severe EDS were 9 and 15, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of YSS were 92.3 (88.7 - 95.9)% and 60.6 (55.3 - 65.9)%. The YSS was positively associated with psychiatric conditions and psychotropic drugs use, and negatively with age. Conclusion We found a good criterion validity of the YSS compared with ESS. This questionnaire could be proposed as an alternative to ESS. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was approved by the ethics committee of French Respiratory Society I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data supporting the conclusions of this study can be accessed upon reasonable demand, by email to louise.duthoit@chru-lille.fr