Sensory impairment and driving: the Blue Mountains Eye Study.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the associations between vision, hearing, loss, and car accidents.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey of 3654 people aged 49 years and older in the Blue Mountains, Australia, was used. Each subject had a detailed eye examination and interview.


RESULTS
Self-reported car accident rates in the past year among 2379 current drivers were 5.6% for those aged 49 to 79 years and 9.1% for those 80 years and older. A 2-line difference in visual acuity was associated with increased risk of accidents (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.6), as was visual acuity worse than 6/18 in the right eye (PR = 2.0), overall moderate hearing loss (PR = 1.9), and hearing loss in the right ear (PR = 1.8).


CONCLUSIONS
Sensory loss in drivers may be an important risk factor for car accidents.
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Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Sydney NSW, Australia. rebeccai@pub.health.usyd.edu.au
Mitchell
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Cumming
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D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D014792:Visual Acuity