Self-reported health conditions and related driving reduction in older drivers

Abstract

We surveyed self-reported lifetime health conditions (using National Health and Aging Trends Study questions) and related driving reduction in a large multi-site older driver cohort (n = 2990) from the AAA Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) Study’s baseline assessment. Those reporting reduced driving (n = 337) largely attributed reduction to musculoskeletal (29%), neurologic (13%), and ophthalmologic (10%) conditions. Women reported health condition-related driving reduction more often than men (14% versus 8%, p<.001). Mobility affects well-being; health professionals should consider that health conditions may cause older adults to reduce driving. Gender differences deserve attention in future research and education efforts.

Keywords:

• Driving safety
• health conditions
• mobility
• older drivers

Additional information

Funding

Funding Sources: This research was supported by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (Washington, DC) through the Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) Project, by The National Institute on Aging, AFAR, The John A. Hartford Foundation, and The Atlantic Philanthropies under the Paul Beeson Career Development Award Program <number K23AG043123>, and by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Grant 1 R49 <number CE002096> and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The contents of the manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the funding agencies.Sponsor’s Role: The AAA Foundation was involved in LongROAD study design and manuscript review. They were not involved in subject recruitment, data collection, analysis, or in the decision to publish findings.