Berlin Questionnaire: Explanation, Mechanism, Interpretation free test

Berlin Questionnaire for SAS (Sleep Apnea Syndrome)

Sleep apnea syndrome affects nearly 5 to 7% of the population . However, only one in six patients is treated.

Indeed, it very often happens that patients are not aware of their symptoms, since, by definition, they appear when they sleep. What are these symptoms? Fatigue throughout the day, as soon as you wake up. Drowsiness and frequent and uncontrolled falling asleep (in front of the TV, at work, while driving, etc.). Heavy snoring, headaches upon waking, irritability, feeling depressed, memory problems, feeling choked or suffocated at night.

The Berlin Questionnaire is a tool to begin to identify this disorder. It is used by many specialists and sleep doctors.

Warning: this test is not, in itself, a diagnosis. But it does allow you to know if a patient is likely to be affected. You can complete this test in two minutes, since it only has about ten questions. 

Berlin Questionnaire: explanation of the mechanism

The Berlin Questionnaire measures the likelihood of a patient suffering from SAS.

During this test, the patient answers questions about their weight and height. Then come three categories of questions. They concern snoring, its frequency, and its volume.

These questions also take into account the opinion of the patient’s relatives. Did the latter, yes or no, notice breathing stops during the patient's sleep? At the end of the questionnaire, the patient must specify whether or not he suffers from high blood pressure.

There are two solutions for this. Either the patient already knows the answer, because he has already visited his doctor. Either he will have to go there several times. Indeed, high blood pressure tends to vary depending on the day, and even depending on the time of day.

It climbs especially under the effect of stress. High blood pressure is a very common disorder. Between the ages of 65 and 75, it is estimated that it affects almost one in three men, and half of women.

Berlin Questionnaire: interpretation

Once the patient has answered the Berlin questionnaire, their answers are analyzed. It is then determined whether or not he is likely to suffer from sleep apnea.

In the first category (questions 1 to 5), the patient is considered "at risk" if he has answered positively to at least two questions. Ditto in the second category (questions 6 to 8). In the third category, the patient must have at least a positive response, or a BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 30.

BMI is an index used to assess the health of the patient by taking into account their weight and height. For a patient to be considered "high risk", they must have obtained a "positive" result in at least two categories of the Berlin questionnaire.

"Low risk" subjects are those who will have at most one "positive" category.

Solutions for sleep apnea

Fortunately, there are solutions to combat sleep apnea.

Back2Sleep's intranasal solution is one of them. It is a small orthosis, that is to say a subcategory of prosthesis, that inserted through the patient's nose. Thanks to it, the patient will be able to regain normal breathing.

His airways will therefore no longer be obstructed, and he will be less likely to snore, or to wake up frequently. It is an innovative and non-binding treatment.

The SAS patient may also try sleep apnea masks . There are different types: nasal masks, face masks, nasal or oral masks. The nasal mask is the most common to treat sleep apnea.

It concerns patients who breathe through their nose. The operation of these masks is simple. They transmit air to the patient during sleep. Thanks to this air, the patient's airways are no longer obstructed. For each of the types of masks mentioned above, there are many models, suitable for most morphologies. In conclusion, let us add that sleep apnea is not a trivial disorder. It is important to take into account its possible symptoms as soon as possible. Note also that this syndrome may affect children.