Evaluation of Severity Levels of the Athens Insomnia Scale Based on the Criterion of Insomnia Severity Index

Abstract

The Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) can be regarded as a highly useful instrument in both clinical and research settings, except for when assessing the severity level. This study aims to determine the severity criteria for AIS by using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). A total of 1666 government employees aged 20 years or older were evaluated using the AIS and ISI, the Patient Health Questionnaire for depressive symptoms, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale for daytime sleepiness, and the Short Form Health Survey of the Medical Outcomes Study for health-related quality of life (QoL). A significant positive correlation (r) was found between the AIS and the ISI (r = 0.80, p < 0.001). As a result of describing receiver–operator curves, the severity criteria of the AIS are capable of categorizing insomnia severity as follows: absence of insomnia (0–5), mild insomnia (6–9), moderate insomnia (10–15), and severe insomnia (16–24). In addition, compared to all scales across groups categorized by AIS or ISI, it was revealed that similar results could be obtained (all p < 0.05). Therefore, the identification of the severity of AIS in this study is important in linking the findings of epidemiological studies with those of clinical studies.