Driving-Related Cognitive Performance in Older Adults with Pharmacologically Treated Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine if older drivers with pharmacologically treated hypertension and/or heart disease demonstrate impaired performance on established driving-related cognitive measures. Data regarding self-reported demographic variables (i.e., age, sex, race, income, mental and physical health diagnoses, and prescription drug use) and performance on driving-related measures of cognitive function (i.e., Trail Making Test B and Useful Field of View [UFOV®] subtest 2) were gathered from 865 licensed drivers. No group cognitive performance differences were found among the treated hypertensive group and the healthy control group, thus underscoring the importance of effective hypertension management. However, older adults with pharmacologically treated heart disease demonstrated poorer performance than did older adults without heart disease on Trails B and UFOV® subtest 2. Although it is generally agreed that assessment and early intervention with regard to heart disease risk factors (i.e., cholesterol, tobacco smoking, obesity, etc.) beneficially affect physical health, the current results also indicate that addressing such risk factors prior to the development of heart disease may benefit cognitive function as well.

KEYWORDS:

• cognition
• heart disease
• hypertension
• older drivers

This study was supported in part by grants NIH/NIA 5 R01 AG021958 and 1 P30 AG022838 (UAB Edward R. Roybal Center for Translational Research on Aging and Mobility), as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT/NHTSA) Contract DTNH22–96-C-05140, “Model Driver Screening and Evaluation Program.”

The authors wish to acknowledge the efforts of Jack Joyce and Robert Raleigh of the Maryland MVA in development of the screening battery, training MVA staff, collaborating on the study protocol and providing essential data from the MVA records. The authors also wish to acknowledge the efforts of Loren Staplin of TransAnalytics, LLC in procuring the DOT/NHTSA contract, developing the screening battery, training MVA staff in battery administration, and collaborating on the design of the study protocol. The authors are also grateful to Ken Gish and Larry Decina of TransAnalytics, LLC. for their many contributions to the project, including oversight of the training and supervision of testing staff.

Financial Disclosure: Karlene Ball and Daniel Roenker are stockholders and consultants to Visual Awareness Inc., the company which owns the patents to the Useful Field of View® testing and training software. No other authors have a financial disclosure or conflict of interest.