OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness (ESD) in general population of a Brazilian city. METHODS: It was determined by means of 198 home interviews of adults, in a representative sample of Ribeirão do Largo city, Brazil. The random sample was simple. ESD was considered in those with index 11 or more in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Statistics used chi-square, Fisher and ANOVA; the significance level was 5%. RESULTS: The prevalence of ESD was 21.5% of population (SD = 2.9%; CI 15.8%-27.2%). No significant association was found between ESD and age (p=0.924), nor with body mass index (p=0.197), sex (p=0.095), schooling (p=0,700), marital status (p=0.414) and the use of hypnotics (p=0.176). There was significant association with early awakening (p=0.046). CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of ESD in the population.
Sleepiness; Epworth Sleepiness Scale; Ribeirão do Largo
