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Driving, Alzheimer's disease and ageing: A potential cognitive screening device for all elderly drivers
Author(s) -
Mitchel Rebecca K.,
Castleden C. Mark,
Fanthome Yvette C.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930101009
Subject(s) - ageing , confidence interval , cognition , alzheimer's disease , cognitive decline , audiology , medicine , stroke (engine) , disease , gerontology , dementia , psychology , psychiatry , mechanical engineering , engineering
To compare detriments to driving ability related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal ageing, 19 patients with AD and 48 apparently normal elderly subjects were assessed on measures of cognitive ability to drive (Stroke Drivers Screening Assessment—SDSA). The presence of AD could have a large detrimental effect on driving ability, as measured by a battery of cognitive tests known to be related to on‐road driving performance. All of the AD group failed, whereas 48% of the control group failed (mean = 5.09, 95% confidence interval 3.75–6.43; t = 7.59, dƒ = 65, p <0.001). Normal ageing may also have a detrimental effect on driving ability, as a significant negative correlation was found between apparently normal ageing and performance on the battery ( r = –0.72, 95% confidence interval –0.6 to –0.8; dƒ = 56, p <0.001). These data suggest that cognitive decline related to AD and normal ageing may render some unsafe to drive, provided that the correlation between the SDSA and on‐road driving skills holds for normal and demented elderly. Further validation of the SDSA is needed but cognitive screening may well be an important tool in deciding about an individual's safety on the road.