Introduction:

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) has shown limited clinimetric properties compared to polysomnography, suggesting the need to review its factor structure.

Objective:

To review the factor structure (dimensionality) and internal consistency of the ESS in a group of patients who underwent polysomnography in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Materials and methods.

A research was conducted to measure the clinimetric properties of the ESS. The sample consisted of 684 individuals aged 18-64 (mean=43.2, SD=13.4) who completed the eight items of the EES, of which 440 were men, and 244, women. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the factor structure of the scale, while its internal consistency was calculated using the McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha coefficients.

Results:

The factor structure was one-dimensional and it accounted for 42% of the variance. Regarding the CFA, the goodness of fit coefficients were unsatisfactory: x2 = 146.47 (gl=20, p=0.001), RMSEA=0.096 (90%CI: 0.082-0.111), CFI=0.902, TLI=0.863 and SMSR=0.047. McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were 0.80 and 0.80 (95%CI: 0.780.82), respectively.

Conclusions:

The EES had a limited one-dimensional structure in the study population, so it is necessary to review the construct of somnolence or refine its factorial structure, this way it may be possible to obtain better indicators in comparison with the best reference criteria for daytime sleepiness diagnosis.

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