Abstract
BackgroundRoad safety is a major issue among seniors. Potentially Driver-Impairing (PDI) drugs are known to increase the risk of car accident. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe PDI-drug consumption among older drivers and determine associated factors.MethodsThe S.AGES cohort is a French non-interventional real-life prospective study of 3700 community-dwelling participants aged ≥65 years old, suffering from type 2 diabetes (T2DM), chronic pain or atrial fibrillation (AF). Baseline data of drivers with known treatment (n = 1783) were used for the analyses. PDI drugs were defined according to the French classification.ResultsOne thousand seven hundred eighty-three drivers were included (66% males; mean age 76 (Standard deviation = 5.78) years old). 21% (n = 373) took PDI drugs, 64% of which took only one (n = 239). The most frequent PDI drugs were: Zolpidem (11%; n = 60); Zopiclone (8%; n = 45); Bromazepam (8%; n = 44); Tramadol (7%; n = 39); Pregabalin (6%; n = 31). Drivers taking PDI drugs had more often chronic pain (OR [95% CI] = 2.30 [1.54–3.46]), history of depressive disorder (4.28 [3.00–6.14]) and polypharmacy (taking at least 5 different medications; 4.32 [2.97–6.41]), and less often T2DM (0.54 [0.37–0.79]), and AF (0.48 [0.32–0.71]). Conversely, they had a lower Activities of Daily Living score (0.34 [0.17–0.68]).ConclusionsThe rate of aged drivers in the S.AGES cohort taking PDI drugs is concerning and highlights the need to carefully assess and reassess PDI-drug prescriptions in this population, particularly hypnotics, anxiolytics and opioids.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01065909 (First posted: February 9th, 2010).
Highlights
Road safety is a major issue among seniors
The cohort was composed of 3 sub-cohorts: participants suffering from type 2 diabetes (T2DM), chronic pain or atrial fibrillation (AF)
A third of the drivers were included in the chronic pain sub-cohort (n = 595), a third in the AF sub-cohort (n = 603), and a last third in the Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) sub-cohort (n = 585)
Summary
Driver-Impairing (PDI) drugs are known to increase the risk of car accident. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe PDI-drug consumption among older drivers and determine associated factors. The worldwide number of subjects aged 80 and older will triple to reach 426 million in 2050 [1]. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the proportion of the population ≥ 70 years old with driving licenses in United States (US) grew from 73% in 1997 to 83% in 2018 [2]. In 2017, in the US, the number of fatal car accident per million miles traveled was 2.1 for drivers aged 75–79 and reached 7.6 for drivers aged
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