Global Journal of Health Science; Vol. 14, No. 7; 2022 ISSN 1916-9736 E-ISSN 1916-9744 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 61 Prevalence and Associated Factors of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Saudi Arabia: A Web Based Questionnaire Based Study Ibrahim M Alsalamah 1 & Raghib Abusaris 1,2 1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistcs, College of Public Health and Health Infomatics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2 King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMARC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Correspondence: Ibrahim M Alsalamah, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistcs, College of Public Health and Health Infomatics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Received: May 21, 2022 Accepted: June 13, 2022 Online Published: June 20, 2022 doi:10.5539/gjhs.v14n7p61 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v14n7p61 Abstract Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition that is prevalent among males. Though less is known about its prevalence among females. Furthermore, STOP-BANG score test is a self-reported survey that is widely used for diagnosing risks of obstructive sleep apnea. Due to the lack of determining the prevalence of OSA among females and its risk factors using STOP-BANG score test, the study was brought off. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted using modified STOP-BANG questionnaire that was distributed through WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, and Telegram to determine the prevalence and associated factors of OSA among Saudi females in comparison to males. Results: A total of 1377 participants completed the survey, total of 819 (59.4%) were females. The results showed that Prevalence of OSA among females is much less and the number of who had whether mild or moderate risk of OSA was 44 (3.9%) while 78 (14%) were males. Among the survey variables, the only significant factors were Smoking, Snoring, Body mass index, and tiredness. Conclusion: OSA is a common sleeping disorder among men. Contrastingly, its prevalence is much less among females. STOP-BANG score is a good, cheap, and easy to use for diagnosing risk of OSA. Finally, OSA is associated with smoking, BMI, tiredness, and snoring. Keywords: OSA, STOP-BANG, prevalence, Sleep Apnea, Saudi Females 1. Introduction Sleep disorders are one of the most common public health issues that have been discovered since the 90s (Maurer, 2008; Santos et al., 2020). American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has classified sleep disorders into seven major categories which are central disorders of hypersomnolence, sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD), circadian rhythm, sleep-wake disorders, parasomnias, insomnia and sleep-related movement disorders (SRMD). Each of which has sub-categories (Sateia, 2014). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is classified as a SRBD and it is one of the most common sleep disorders which ranges between 9%–38%, specifically among men (Linz et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2019). Pathophysiology of OSA is complex, yet not fully understood. Upper airway obstruction is the main cause of OSA that is caused due to muscle malfunction and decrease of its contractibility. Consequently, airway resistance and increased negative pressure during inhalation thereby frequent airway occlusion during sleep occurs. Nevertheless, anatomical abnormalities could prognose the condition too (Kim et al. 2020). OSA occurs when there is a partial or complete airway obstruction that might lead to patient desaturation, snoring, insufficient sleeping, nocturia, and arousals (Pretto, Gyulay, & Hensley, 2010; Zhang et al., 2019). Consequently, a mild to severe complications might occur such as daytime fatigue, dry mouth, hypertension, and heart attacks (Mekonnen et al., 2019). OSA is associated with multiple complications. For instance, OSA is associated with cardiovascular disease, cognitive, behavioral, and metabolic issues (Baltzis et al., 2016; Santos et al., 2020). Risk factors for OSA might vary from one person to another while the most common factors are obesity, age, large neck circumference, increased airway length and enlarged tongue (Santos et al., 2020). People with OSA might not be able to recognize that they have such a condition. Furthermore, due to different methods of diagnosing OSA, there are no optimum diagnostic test. However, Polysomnography is widely used for