OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) on simulated car driving ability. METHODS: Twenty patients with a probable AD of mild severity (Clinical Dementia Rating, CDR = 1) were compared with 20 subjects with MCI (CD = 0.5), and a group of age-matched neurologically normal controls on a driving simulation task. Measures of driving competence included the length of run, the number of infractions (omission of stop at pedestrian crossings, speed limits violation), the number of stops at traffic lights, the mean time to collision, and the number of off-road events. Results in the driving competence measures were correlated with scores obtained from simple visual reaction times and mini-mental state examination (MMSE). RESULTS: The patients with mild AD performed significantly worse than MCI subjects and controls on three simulated driving measures, length of run and mean time to collision (p < 0.001), and number of off-road events (p < 0.01). MCI subjects had only a significantly shorter time-to-collision than healthy controls (p < 0.001). Simple visual reaction times were significantly longer (p < 0.001) in patients with AD, compared to MCI and healthy controls, and showed a borderline significant relation (p = 0.05) with simulated driving scores. Driving performance in the three groups did not significantly correlate with MMSE score as measure of overall cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: Mild AD significantly impaired simulated driving fitness, while MCI limitedly affected driving performance. Unsafe driving behaviour in AD patients was not predicted by MMSE scores.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) on simulated car driving ability. METHODS: Twenty patients with a probable AD of mild severity (Clinical Dementia Rating, CDR = 1) were compared with 20 subjects with MCI (CD = 0.5), and a group of age-matched neurologically normal controls on a driving simulation task. Measures of driving competence included the length of run, the number of infractions (omission of stop at pedestrian crossings, speed limits violation), the number of stops at traffic lights, the mean time to collision, and the number of off-road events. Results in the driving competence measures were correlated with scores obtained from simple visual reaction times and mini-mental state examination (MMSE). RESULTS: The patients with mild AD performed significantly worse than MCI subjects and controls on three simulated driving measures, length of run and mean time to collision (p < 0.001), and number of off-road events (p < 0.01). MCI subjects had only a significantly shorter time-to-collision than healthy controls (p < 0.001). Simple visual reaction times were significantly longer (p < 0.001) in patients with AD, compared to MCI and healthy controls, and showed a borderline significant relation (p = 0.05) with simulated driving scores. Driving performance in the three groups did not significantly correlate with MMSE score as measure of overall cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: Mild AD significantly impaired simulated driving fitness, while MCI limitedly affected driving performance. Unsafe driving behaviour in ADpatients was not predicted by MMSE scores.
Authors: Stephan Seiler; Helena Schmidt; Anita Lechner; Thomas Benke; Guenter Sanin; Gerhard Ransmayr; Riccarda Lehner; Peter Dal-Bianco; Peter Santer; Patricia Linortner; Christian Eggers; Bernhard Haider; Margarete Uranues; Josef Marksteiner; Friedrich Leblhuber; Peter Kapeller; Christian Bancher; Reinhold Schmidt Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-12-26 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Tobias Nef; René M Müri; Rahel Bieri; Michael Jäger; Nora Bethencourt; Ioannis Tarnanas; Urs P Mosimann Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2013-10-21 Impact factor: 5.428
Authors: Madelaine Wernham; Pamela G Jarrett; Connie Stewart; Elizabeth MacDonald; Donna MacNeil; Cynthia Hobbs Journal: Can Geriatr J Date: 2014-06-03