Psychometric evaluation of the Epworth sleepiness scale in an obstetric population.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was initially developed to measure daytime sleep propensity in patients affected by a variety of sleep disorders. Obstetrical research has measured sleepiness in pregnant women with the ESS, although psychometric analyses and dimensionality evaluations have never been conducted with this population.

OBJECTIVE:

The objective was to perform a psychometric evaluation of the ESS in an obstetric population. The design was a secondary data analysis of the subjects enrolled in the Prenatal Exposures and Preeclampsia Prevention III (PEPP) study. The setting for the subjects who received prenatal care was at Magee-Women's Hospital UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and included 337 pregnant women in their first trimester that completed the ESS.

METHODS:

Principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed using SPSS and M-Plus. Additionally, reliability was assessed and construct validity was measured using the Life Orientation Test (LOT). Lastly, a relationship between daytime sleepiness and snoring was investigated using item 5e from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

RESULTS:

PCA with varimax rotation yielded two factors that explained approximately 50% of the variance and CFA results verified this two-factor solution. An overall Cronbach's alpha (0.751) revealed moderate reliability (Factor 1α=.754; Factor 2α=.524). Both convergent and discriminant validity were established.

CONCLUSION:

The ESS is appropriate for use in an obstetric population to measure daytime sleepiness. Future work should include additional evaluations of the ESS in a diverse group of pregnant women.

• Authors: Kelley L Baumgartel, Lauren Terhorst, Yvette P Conley, James M Roberts
• Journal: Sleep medicine (Sleep Med) Vol. 14 Issue 1 Pg. 116-21 (Jan 2013) ISSN: 1878-5506 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 23218535 (Publication Type: Evaluation Study, Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Factor Analysis, Statistical
• Female
• Humans
• Pregnancy
• Pregnancy Complications (diagnosis, physiopathology, psychology)
• Pregnancy Trimester, First (physiology, psychology)
• Principal Component Analysis
• Psychological Tests
• Psychometrics
• Reproducibility of Results
• Sleep Wake Disorders (diagnosis, physiopathology, psychology)
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Wakefulness (physiology)
• Young Adult