Driving with distraction in Parkinson disease

E Y Uc; M Rizzo; S W Anderson; J D Sparks; R L Rodnitzky; J D Dawson

doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000245086.32787.61

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Driving with distraction in Parkinson disease

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Driving with distraction in Parkinson disease

E Y Uc, M Rizzo, S W Anderson, J D Sparks, R L Rodnitzky and J D Dawson

Neurology, Vol.67(10), pp.1774-1780

11/28/2006

DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000245086.32787.61

PMID: 17130409

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Abstract

To assess the effects of auditory-verbal distraction on driving performance in Parkinson disease (PD). We tested licensed, currently active drivers with mild-to-moderate PD (n = 71) and elderly controls with no neurologic disease (n = 147) on a battery of cognitive, visual, and motor tests. While they drove on a four-lane interstate freeway in an instrumented vehicle, we determined at-fault safety errors and vehicle control measures during a distracter task (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task [PASAT]) and on an uneventful baseline segment. Compared with controls, drivers with PD committed more errors during both baseline and distraction, and drove slower with higher speed variability during distraction. Although the average effect of distraction on driving performance compared with baseline was not different between the groups, the drivers with PD showed a more heterogeneous response to distraction (p < 0.001): the error count increased in 28.2% of drivers with PD (vs 15.8% in controls), decreased in 16.9% (vs 3.4%), and remained stable in 54.9% (vs 80.8%). The odds of increase in safety errors due to distraction was higher in the PD group even after adjusting for baseline errors, level of engagement in PASAT, sex, and education (odds ratio [95% CI] = 2.62 [1.19 to 5.74], p = 0.016). Decreased performance on tests of cognitive flexibility, verbal memory, postural control, and increased daytime sleepiness predicted worsening of driving performance due to distraction within the PD group. The quantitative effect of an auditory-verbal distracter task on driving performance was not significantly different between Parkinson disease (PD) and control groups. However, a significantly larger subset of drivers with PD had worsening of their driving safety errors during distraction. Measures of cognition, motor function, and sleepiness predicted effects of distraction on driving performance within the PD group.

Humans

Middle Aged

Fatigue - etiology

Male

Psychomotor Performance - physiology

Attention - physiology

Sleep Stages - physiology

Female

Cognition Disorders - psychology

Disability Evaluation

Safety - statistics & numerical data

Parkinson Disease - complications

Cognition Disorders - physiopathology

Acoustic Stimulation

Fatigue - psychology

Automobile Driving - psychology

Fatigue - diagnosis

Parkinson Disease - physiopathology

Parkinson Disease - psychology

Neuropsychological Tests

Cognition Disorders - complications

Accidents, Traffic - psychology

Automobile Driving - statistics & numerical data

Safety - standards

Aged

Photic Stimulation

Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control

Details

Title: Subtitle: Driving with distraction in Parkinson disease
Creators: E Y Uc - Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive-2RCP, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. ergun-uc@uiowa.edu
M Rizzo
S W Anderson
J D Sparks
R L Rodnitzky
J D Dawson
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Neurology, Vol.67(10), pp.1774-1780
DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000245086.32787.61
PMID: 17130409
NLM abbreviation: Neurology
ISSN: 0028-3878
eISSN: 1526-632X
Publisher: United States
Grant note: R01 AG 17717 / NIA NIH HHS R01 AG 15071 / NIA NIH HHS R01 NS044930 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 11/28/2006
Academic Unit: Neurology; Public Health Administration; Biostatistics
Record Identifier: 9983997456102771

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