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Sleep Related Questionnaires

HomeMembersAssemblies and SectionsAssembliesSleep and Respiratory NeurobiologySleep Related Questionnaires ▶ The University of California, San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (SOBQ)
The University of California, San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (SOBQ)

Name of questionnaire The University of California, San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (SOBQ)                                                         
**Since its initial development, the SOBQ has undergone a number of revisions to clarify and expand the rating scale of the original instrument, in order to minimize missing data. This summary refers to the new SOBQ version.
Type of questionnaire-description Self-administered rating of dyspnea associated with activities of daily living (ADLs)
Number of items 24
Number of domains & categories Not specified 
Name of categories/domains   21 items assess severity of shortness of breath during specific ADLs; if patients do not routinely perform the
activity, they are asked to estimate the degree of shortness of breath anticipated. Three additional items ask about limitations due to: shortness of breath, fear of harm from overexertion and fear of shortness of breath.
Scaling of items 6-point scale (0 = "not at all" to 5 = "maximal or unable to do because of breathlessness")
Scoring Scores range from 0 to 120. 
Test-retest reproducibility Not reported for the new version, but reported r = 0.94 for the previous version  
Internal consistency New version: Cronbach's α= 0.96; previous version Cronbach's α= 0.91 
Validity reported, with significant negative correlation with exercise tolerance (6MW) (Eakin EG, Resnikoff PM, Prewitt LM, Ries AL, Kaplan RM. Validation of a new dyspnea measure. The UCSD shortness of breath questionnaire. Chest 1998, 113:619-24); previous version demonstrated moderate negative correlations with 6MW and quality of life (Quality of Well-Being Scale) and weaker correlations with lung function (FEV1 and FVC), depression and anxiety scores.    
Minimally important difference 5 units
Language English for the USA  
Translations in other languages (if yes, then list the languages) 15 translations currently available; for an up-to-date list, see: click here
Developer name Archibald CJ, Guidotti TL (old version); Eakin EG, Resnikoff PM, Prewitt LM, Ries AL, Kaplan RM (new version)
Developer contact information Andrew L. Ries, MD, MPH, FCCP, UCSD School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Dive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0602; aries@ucsd.edu
Availability of questionnaire: needs permission from developer, cost or freely available Copyrighted to the University of California. Contact the developer or the UCSD Technology Transfer Office for further instruction.  With appropriate acknowledgment, freely available for educational, clinical, or non-profit research use. For commercial uses or by for-profit organizations, contact the UCSD Technology Transfer Office for licensing.
References (original publication) Original version: Archibald CJ, Guidotti TL. Degree of objectively measured impairment and perceived shortness of breath with activities of daily living in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Can J Rehab 1987, 1:45-54.
**New Version: Eakin EG, Resnikoff PM, Prewitt LM, Ries AL, Kaplan RM. Validation of a new dyspnea measure. The UCSD shortness of breath questionnaire. Chest 1998, 113:619-24. Eakin EG, Resnikoff PM, Prewitt LM, Ries AL, Kaplan RM. Validation of a new dyspnea measure. The UCSD shortness of breath questionnaire. Chest 1998, 113:619-24. Eakin EG, Sassi-Dambron DE, Ries AL, Kaplan RM. Reliability and validity of dyspnea measures in patients with obstructive lung disease. Int J Behav Med. 1995, 2(2):118-34. Kupferberg DH, Kaplan RM, Slymen DJ, Ries AL. Minimal Clinically Important Difference for the UCSD Shortness of Breath Questionnaire. J Cardiopulm Rehabil. 2005, 25(6):370-7.               
Limitations -
Link to the questionnaire (if available) Not available 
Comment **The correlation of the new with original version was very good (r=0.89).