Neuropsychological assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurologic disease

Steven W Anderson; Nazan Aksan; Jeffrey D Dawson; Ergun Y Uc; Amy M Johnson; Matthew Rizzo

doi:10.1080/13803395.2011.630654

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Neuropsychological assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurologic disease

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Neuropsychological assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurologic disease

Steven W Anderson, Nazan Aksan, Jeffrey D Dawson, Ergun Y Uc, Amy M Johnson and Matthew Rizzo

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, Vol.34(9), pp.895-905

11/01/2012

DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2011.630654

PMCID: PMC3910382

PMID: 22943767

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3910382View

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Abstract

Decline in cognitive abilities can be an important contributor to the driving problems encountered by older adults, and neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical approach to evaluating this aspect of driving safety risk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate several commonly used neuropsychological tests in the assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurological disease. A further goal of this study was to identify brief combinations of neuropsychological tests that sample performances in key functional domains and thus could be used to efficiently assess driving safety risk. A total of 345 legally licensed and active drivers over the age of 50, with no neurologic disease (N = 185), probable Alzheimer's disease (N = 40), Parkinson's disease (N = 91), or stroke (N = 29), completed vision testing, a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests, and an 18-mile drive on urban and rural roads in an instrumented vehicle. Performances on all neuropsychological tests were significantly correlated with driving safety errors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify 3 key cognitive domains assessed by the tests (speed of processing, visuospatial abilities, and memory), and several brief batteries consisting of one test from each domain showed moderate corrected correlations with driving performance. These findings are consistent with the notion that driving places demands on multiple cognitive abilities that can be affected by aging and age-related neurological disease, and that neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical off-road window into the functional status of these cognitive systems.

Aging

Driving

Automobile

Neuropsychology

Assessment

Details

Title: Subtitle: Neuropsychological assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurologic disease
Creators: Steven W Anderson - Division of Neuroergonomics, Department of Neurology , University of Iowa
Nazan Aksan - Division of Neuroergonomics, Department of Neurology , University of Iowa
Jeffrey D Dawson - Department of Biostatistics , University of Iowa
Ergun Y Uc - Veterans Affairs Medical Center , University of Iowa
Amy M Johnson - Department of Biostatistics , University of Iowa
Matthew Rizzo - Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, Vol.34(9), pp.895-905
DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2011.630654
PMID: 22943767
PMCID: PMC3910382
NLM abbreviation: J Clin Exp Neuropsychol
ISSN: 1380-3395
eISSN: 1744-411X
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Language: English
Date published: 11/01/2012
Academic Unit: Neurology; Public Health Administration; Biostatistics; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9983997312802771

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