TY - JOUR
T1 - Driving status and three-year mortality among community-dwelling older adults
AU - Edwards, Jerri D.
AU - Perkins, Martinique
AU - Ross, Lesley A.
AU - Reynolds, Sandra L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging grants 1 P30 AG022838-01 Translational Research on Aging and Mobility and 5 R37 AG05739-16 Improvement of Visual Processing in Older Adults, Karlene K. Ball, principal investigator.
PY - 2009/2
Y1 - 2009/2
N2 - Background. Driving cessation can lead to myriad negative consequences for older adults. The purpose of these analyses was to examine driving status as a predictor of mortality among community-dwelling older adults. Methods. This prospective cohort study included 660 community-dwelling adults ranging in age between 63 and 97 years. Between 2000 and 2004, participants completed performance-based assessments of vision, cognition, and physical abilities and indexes of health, depression, self-efficacy, and driving habits. Follow-up telephone interviews were completed approximately 3 years later. Results. Among community-dwelling older adults, older age, health, poor near visual acuity, depressive symptoms, compromised cognitive status, and being a nondriver are associated with increased risk for a 3-year mortality. Nondrivers were four to six times more likely to die than drivers during the subsequent 3-year period. Conclusions. The ability to drive represents both a sign of cherished independence and underlying health and wellbeing for older adults. Retaining this ability is an important health concern in the United States.
AB - Background. Driving cessation can lead to myriad negative consequences for older adults. The purpose of these analyses was to examine driving status as a predictor of mortality among community-dwelling older adults. Methods. This prospective cohort study included 660 community-dwelling adults ranging in age between 63 and 97 years. Between 2000 and 2004, participants completed performance-based assessments of vision, cognition, and physical abilities and indexes of health, depression, self-efficacy, and driving habits. Follow-up telephone interviews were completed approximately 3 years later. Results. Among community-dwelling older adults, older age, health, poor near visual acuity, depressive symptoms, compromised cognitive status, and being a nondriver are associated with increased risk for a 3-year mortality. Nondrivers were four to six times more likely to die than drivers during the subsequent 3-year period. Conclusions. The ability to drive represents both a sign of cherished independence and underlying health and wellbeing for older adults. Retaining this ability is an important health concern in the United States.
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U2 - 10.1093/gerona/gln019
DO - 10.1093/gerona/gln019
M3 - Article
C2 - 19181711
AN - SCOPUS:64949085556
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 64
SP - 300
EP - 305
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 2
ER -