Abstract
Driving is a multifactorial behaviour drawing on multiple cognitive, sensory, and physical systems. Dementia is a progressive and degenerative neurological condition that impacts the cognitive processes necessary for safe driving. While a number of studies have examined driving among individuals with Alzheimer's disease, less is known about the impact of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) on driving safety. The present study compared simulated driving performance of 15 older drivers with mild DLB with that of 21 neurologically healthy control drivers. DLB drivers showed poorer performance on all indicators of simulated driving including an increased number of collisions in the simulator and poorer composite indicators of overall driving performance. A measure of global cognitive function (i.e., the Mini Mental State Exam) was found to be related to the overall driving performance. In addition, measures of attention (i.e., Useful Field of View, UFOV) and space processing (Visual Object and Space Perception, VOSP, Test) correlated significantly with a rater's assessment of driving performance.
Highlights
Driving an automobile is a primary means of mobility for many older adults, allowing them to access medical services and social contacts and participate in their communities
The results revealed that the number of errors accrued by the driving simulator was significantly higher among Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) drivers (M = 57.07) than among controls (M = 27.86) [F(1, 34) = 57.61, p < .001]
DLB drivers were assigned over four times the number of demerit points (M = 284.00) in comparison to the control group (M = 59.64) during the simulated driving assessment, a difference that reached statistical significance [F(1, 36) = 57.61, p < .001]
Summary
Driving an automobile is a primary means of mobility for many older adults, allowing them to access medical services and social contacts and participate in their communities. Driving is associated with independence, quality of life, and better health and, for many older adults, forms a central part of their identity [1]. Driving is so important in the lives of older adults that it is often referred to as an Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL). While it forms a central part of identity and contributes to quality of life, driving among older adults comes with an increased risk of motor vehicle collisions, injury, and mortality due to those collisions [3]. The increased injury risk among older drivers represents a significant public health issue and an economic burden which is troublesome given that, in Canada, drivers over 65 years are the fastest growing segment of the licensed population [4]
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