STOP-BANG Questionnaire Explained: What Your Score Means

If someone has handed you a STOP-BANG questionnaire, or you found one online, it helps to know what it is actually measuring. It is a quick screening tool, not a test result. Here is what the eight questions mean and what to do with your score.

What does STOP-BANG stand for?

Each letter is one yes-or-no question. You score one point for every yes, giving a total from 0 to 8.

Letter	Question
S	Snoring loudly (louder than talking, or heard through a closed door)?
T	Tiredness during the day, often feeling fatigued or sleepy?
O	Observed stopping of breathing, or gasping, during sleep?
P	High blood pressure, or being treated for it?
B	BMI over 35?
A	Age over 50?
N	Neck circumference over 40 cm (about 16 inches)?
G	Gender male?

The first four (STOP) are about symptoms. The last four (BANG) are background risk factors. Together they line up with the things that genuinely raise the odds of obstructive sleep apnoea.

What does my STOP-BANG score mean?

A higher score means a higher likelihood of OSA, not a verdict that you have it. The common reading is:

• 0 to 2: lower risk.
• 3 to 4: intermediate risk.
• 5 to 8: higher risk.

A score of 3 or more is the usual threshold to take seriously and raise with a GP.

Why is STOP-BANG sensitive but not specific?

This is the key thing to understand. The questionnaire is designed to catch as many real cases as possible, even at the cost of flagging some people who do not have OSA. At a score of 3 or more, it picks up around 73 percent of all OSA cases and around 92 percent of severe cases. But its specificity is lower, around 38 to 66 percent, so plenty of high scorers turn out not to have apnoea.

In plain terms, a high score is good at saying “this is worth checking” and poor at saying “you definitely have it”. That is exactly why it is a screening tool and not a diagnosis. Only a clinical sleep study can confirm or rule out OSA, and only a clinician can grade its severity.

What should I do with a high score?

See your GP and bring the score with you. OSA is common and heavily underdiagnosed, with an estimated 1.5 million UK adults affected and most cases never picked up, so a GP conversation is a sensible step rather than an overreaction. Your GP may refer you to a sleep clinic for a proper assessment.

It also helps to arrive with real information about your nights. A few nights of recorded snoring loudness and frequency turns “my partner says I snore” into something concrete. An app like Kip records and scores your snoring on your iPhone, so you can see your own trend before the appointment. It tracks patterns consistent with disrupted sleep. It does not measure breathing pauses, and it cannot diagnose anything.

For more on what to watch for, see the signs of sleep apnoea and when to see a GP about snoring. STOP-BANG is often paired with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, which scores daytime sleepiness.

Sources

• NICE NG202: Obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome
• Pivetta et al. STOP-Bang validation meta-analysis (2021)
• NHS: Sleep apnoea
• Asthma + Lung UK: Obstructive sleep apnoea

FAQ

Is a STOP-BANG score of 3 bad?

A score of 3 puts you in the intermediate-risk group, which is a reason to talk to your GP, not a cause for alarm. It does not mean you have sleep apnoea. Many people who score 3 do not, because the questionnaire is built to flag cases generously rather than confirm them.

Can STOP-BANG diagnose sleep apnoea?

No. STOP-BANG only screens for the likelihood of OSA. An app cannot diagnose it either. Only a clinical sleep study, arranged through a GP or sleep clinic, can diagnose sleep apnoea and grade how severe it is.

What is a normal neck size for STOP-BANG?

The questionnaire flags a neck circumference over 40 cm, which is about 16 inches, because a larger neck can crowd the upper airway during sleep. A measurement under that scores zero points for the neck item. It is just one of eight factors, so on its own it tells you little.