Skip to main content
Log in

Validity of the Italian Version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

Neurological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), comparing five different groups of individuals (healthy young and elderly, sleep apnoea syndrome patients, depressed patients, individuals with dementia) by both questionnaire scores and polysomnographic measures. Fifty individuals (10 for each group) participated in the study. Each of them filled in the PSQI and slept for two consecutive nights in the sleep laboratory. The PSQI showed an overall reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s α) of 0.835, indicating a high degree of internal consistency. The mean PSQI global score showed significant differences between groups, with an impaired overall quality of sleep in patients’ groups with respect to both the healthy groups. Results also indicated that the best cut-off score (differentiating “good” from “bad” sleepers) is 5. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a useful, valid and reliable tool for the assessment of sleep quality, with an overall efficiency comparable to the mother language version and differentiate “good” from “bad” sleepers. The Italian version of the questionnaire provides a good and reliable differentiation between normal and pathological groups, with higher scores reported by people characterized by impaired objectively evaluated sleep quality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  1. Krystal AD, Edinger JD (2008) Measuring sleep quality. Sleep Med 9(Suppl 1):S10–S17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Buysse DJ, Germain A, Moul D, Nofzinger EA (2005) Insomnia. In: Buysse DJ (ed) Sleep disorders and psychiatry. American Psychiatric Publishing Inc, Arlington, pp 29–75

    Google Scholar 

  3. Roehrs T, Carskadon MA, Dement WC, Roth T (2005) Daytime sleepiness and alertness. In: Kryger MH, Roth T, Dement WC (eds) Principles and practices of sleep medicine, 4th edn. Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 39–50

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  4. Curcio G, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L (2006) Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep Med Rev 10:323–337

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Diekelmann S, Wilhelm I, Born J (2009) The whats and whens of sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Sleep Med Rev 13:309–321

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ (1989) The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res 28:193–213

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Carpenter JS, Andrykowski MA (1998) Psychometric evaluation of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. J Psychosom Res 45:5–13

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Backhaus J, Junghanns K, Broocks A, Riemann D, Hohagen F (2002) Test-retest reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in primary insomnia. J Psychosom Res 53:737–740

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cole JC, Motivala SJ, Buysse DJ (2006) Validation of a 3-factor scoring model for the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in older adults. Sleep 29:112–116

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Knutson KL, Rathouz PJ, Yan LL, Liu K, Lauderdale DS (2006) Stability of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Questionnaires over 1 year in early middle-aged adults: the CARDIA study. Sleep 29:1503–1506

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH et al (1991) Quantification of subjective sleep quality in healthy elderly men and women using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Sleep 14:331–338

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Boddy F, Rowan EN, Lett D et al (2007) Subjectively reported sleep quality and excessive daytime somnolence in Parkinson’s disease with and without dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 22:529–535

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Doi Y, Minora M, Uchiyama M et al (2000) Psychometric assessment of subjective sleep quality using the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-J) in psychiatric disordered and control subjects. Psychiatry Res 97:165–172

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Aloba OO, Adewuya AO, Ola BA, Mapayi BM (2007) Validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) among Nigerian university students. Sleep Med 8:266–270

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Shochat T, Tzischinsky O, Oksenberg A, Peled R (2007) Validation of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Hebrew translation (PSQI-H) in a sleep clinic sample. Isr Med Assoc J 9:853–856

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bertolazi AN, Fagondes SC, Hoff LS et al (2011) Validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Sleep Med 12:70–75

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. De Gennaro L, Martina M, Curcio G, Ferrara M (2004) The relationship between alexithymia, depression, and sleep complaints. Psychiatry Res 128:253–258

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Violani C, Devoto A, Lucidi F, Lombardo C, Russo PM (2004) Validity of a short insomnia questionnaire: the SDQ. Brain Res Bull 63:415–421

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Della Marca G, Frusciante R, Vollono C et al (2007) Sleep quality in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. J Neurol Sci 263:49–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Merlino G, Fratticci L, Lenchig C et al (2009) Prevalence of ‘poor sleep’ among patients with multiple sclerosis: an independent predictor of mental and physical status. Sleep Med 210:26–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. McKhann G, Drachman D, Folstein M et al (1984) Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurology 3:939–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Redline S, Sanders MH, Lind BK et al (1998) Methods for obtaining and analyzing unattended polysomnography data for a multicenter study. Sleep Heart Health Research Group. Sleep 21:759–767

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Curcio G, Ferrara M, Piergianni A, Fratello F, De Gennaro L (2004) Paradoxes of the first-night effect: a quantitative analysis of antero-posterior EEG topography. Clin Neurophysiol 115:1178–1188

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Rechtschaffen A, Kales A (1968) A manual of standardized terminology, techniques and scoring system for sleep stages of human subjects. Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  25. Streiner DL, Cairney J (2007) What’s under the ROC? An introduction to receiver operating characteristics curves. Can J Psychiatry 52:121–128

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Banno K, Kryger MH (2007) Sleep apnea: clinical investigations in humans. Sleep Med 8:400–426

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Fischer JE, Bachmann LM, Jaeschke R (2003) A readers’ guide to the interpretation of diagnostic test properties: clinical example of sepsis. Intensive Care Med 29:1043–1051

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Means MK, Edinger JD, Glenn DM, Fins AI (2003) Accuracy of sleep perceptions among insomnia sufferers and normal sleepers. Sleep Med 4:285–296

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Feige B, Al-Shajlawi A, Nissen C (2008) Does REM sleep contribute to subjective wake time in primary insomnia? A comparison of polysomnographic and subjective sleep in 100 patients. J Sleep Res 17:180–190

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giuseppe Curcio.

Appendix

Appendix

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Curcio, G., Tempesta, D., Scarlata, S. et al. Validity of the Italian Version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Neurol Sci 34, 511–519 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-012-1085-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-012-1085-y

Keywords

Navigation