View in EDS

Driving Fitness in Different Forms of Dementia: An Update.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Driving Fitness in Different Forms of Dementia: An Update.
Authors: Toepper, Max (AUTHOR), Falkenstein, Michael (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Oct2019, Vol. 67 Issue 10, p2186-2192. 7p. 1 Diagram.
Subjects: Automobile driving, Cognition disorder risk factors, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Dementia patients, Psychology information storage & retrieval systems, Life skills, MEDLINE, Safety, Systematic reviews, Severity of illness index, Disease complications, Old age, Psychology
Abstract: BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Most forms of dementia are associated with progressive cognitive and noncognitive impairments that can severely affect fitness to drive. Whether safe driving is still possible in the single case, however, is often difficult to decide and may be dependent on both severity and type of the respective dementia syndrome. Particularly in early disease stages, Alzheimer disease dementia (ADD) and different types of non‐Alzheimer dementias, such as vascular dementia (VaD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Parkinson disease dementia (PDD), might differentially affect fitness to drive. DESIGN: To examine the effects of severity and type of dementia on driving fitness, we conducted a systematic review with qualitative narrative synthesis, involving different driving outcomes in different forms and stages of dementia. SETTING: Literature research included MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases with a focus on the most relevant and recent publications on the topic. PARTICIPANTS: The population of interest included older drivers in different stages of ADD and different forms of non‐Alzheimer dementias (VaD, FTD, DLB, and PDD). MEASUREMENTS: Narrative description of driving outcomes in the population of interest. RESULTS: Overall, previous studies suggest that driving fitness is severely impaired in moderate and severe dementia, irrespective of the type of dementia. In milder disease stages, fitness to drive appears to be more severely impaired in non‐Alzheimer dementias than in ADD, since the non‐Alzheimer syndromes are not only associated with driving‐relevant cognitive but noncognitive risk factors, such as behavioral or motor symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, practical recommendations are presented, including a risk evaluation for driving safety, depending on severity and type of different dementia syndromes. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:2186–2192, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Description
Abstract:BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Most forms of dementia are associated with progressive cognitive and noncognitive impairments that can severely affect fitness to drive. Whether safe driving is still possible in the single case, however, is often difficult to decide and may be dependent on both severity and type of the respective dementia syndrome. Particularly in early disease stages, Alzheimer disease dementia (ADD) and different types of non‐Alzheimer dementias, such as vascular dementia (VaD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Parkinson disease dementia (PDD), might differentially affect fitness to drive. DESIGN: To examine the effects of severity and type of dementia on driving fitness, we conducted a systematic review with qualitative narrative synthesis, involving different driving outcomes in different forms and stages of dementia. SETTING: Literature research included MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases with a focus on the most relevant and recent publications on the topic. PARTICIPANTS: The population of interest included older drivers in different stages of ADD and different forms of non‐Alzheimer dementias (VaD, FTD, DLB, and PDD). MEASUREMENTS: Narrative description of driving outcomes in the population of interest. RESULTS: Overall, previous studies suggest that driving fitness is severely impaired in moderate and severe dementia, irrespective of the type of dementia. In milder disease stages, fitness to drive appears to be more severely impaired in non‐Alzheimer dementias than in ADD, since the non‐Alzheimer syndromes are not only associated with driving‐relevant cognitive but noncognitive risk factors, such as behavioral or motor symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, practical recommendations are presented, including a risk evaluation for driving safety, depending on severity and type of different dementia syndromes. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:2186–2192, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:00028614
DOI:10.1111/jgs.16077