Total ESS score along with correlations from PSG testing are highly useful in diagnosing sleep disorders. The total ESS score is based on a scale of 0 to 24, with a score equal to and above 16 considered to be very sleepy and warrants further investigation.
The patient self-rates the chances that they would fall asleep while in eight different situations commonly encountered in daily life. The ESS provides a validated measure of the patient's general level of daytime sleepiness and provides the physician with an initial screening tool to help assess the sleep debt. An increasing number of referrals are made to the sleep specialists by primary providers after initial history, assessment of sleep hygiene, and screening with an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The potential life-threatening cardiovascular ( 2), neurocognitive, and metabolic complications ( 3) related to untreated sleep-disordered breathing have intensified the need for making an early diagnosis.
Sleep-disordered breathing is a common public health problem that affects an estimated 10% of 30- to 49-year-old men 17% of 50- to 70-year-old men 3% of 30- to 49-year-old women and 9% of 50- to 70-year-old women ( 1). There is a significant increase in the demand for sleep-related evaluations and sleep studies, due to the heightened public awareness of sleep disorders. Polysomnography (PSG), popularly known as a ‘sleep study’, has been used for decades to diagnose and evaluate the severity of sleep-disordered breathing.