The Portuguese version of the Bordeaux Sleepiness Scale (BOSS) demonstrates moderate internal consistency and construct validity, showing 'acceptable accuracy in identifying patients with sleepiness-related events' and preliminary support for its use in identifying driving-related sleepiness in patients with sleep disorders.
The Portuguese BOSS demonstrated moderate internal consistency as measured by Cronbach's alpha.
The Portuguese BOSS showed acceptable accuracy in identifying patients with sleepiness-related driving events, outperforming the ESS on ROC curve analysis.
Both the BOSS and the ESS showed significantly higher scores in participants who had experienced sleepiness-related accidents or near-misses compared to those who had not.
The Portuguese BOSS showed a moderate convergent correlation with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).
The study sample was predominantly composed of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea attending a Sleep Disorders Clinic.
This research describes the translation and testing of a Portuguese version of the Bordeaux Sleepiness Scale (BOSS), a short questionnaire designed specifically to measure sleepiness related to driving. The original BOSS was developed in France, and this study adapted it for Portuguese-speaking patients following international standards for translating medical questionnaires. The study tested the questionnaire on 234 patients attending a sleep clinic in Portugal, the vast majority of whom had obstructive sleep apnoea — a condition known to cause daytime sleepiness. The researchers found that the Portuguese BOSS was reasonably reliable and valid. It was moderately consistent in how it measured sleepiness across its questions, and it correlated moderately with the well-established Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), which measures general daytime sleepiness. Importantly, the BOSS was better than the ESS at identifying patients who had experienced a sleepiness-related driving accident or near-miss in the past year, with the BOSS achieving an accuracy score (AUC) of 0.895 compared to 0.842 for the ESS. Both scales gave significantly higher scores to people who had experienced such events. This research suggests that the Portuguese BOSS is a promising tool for clinicians to identify patients with sleep disorders who may be at risk of sleepiness-related driving incidents. Because it is specifically focused on driving rather than general sleepiness, it may capture relevant risks that a general sleepiness scale misses. The authors note these findings are preliminary and that the scale may be particularly useful in sleep disorder clinic settings where driving safety is a concern.
Upload your bloodwork. We'll cross-reference your results against this study and 4,700 others.
Upload Your Labsde Castro M, Machado T, Nogueira C, Machado D, Franco I, Sanches I, et al.. (2026). Cross-cultural adaptation and construct validity of the Portuguese version of the Bordeaux Sleepiness Scale (BOSS): A cross-sectional study in patients with sleep disorders.. Pulmonology. https://doi.org/10.1080/25310429.2026.2722797