title: Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of Brazilian patients with epilepsy who drive and their association with traffic accidents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify variables associated with driving in patients with epilepsy and their association with traffic accidents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the independent association between demographic and clinical variables and driving in 144 outpatients with epilepsy. Traffic accidents caused by seizures were also analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-eight patients (47.2%) drove after the diagnosis of epilepsy. Among these patients, 67.6% drove in the last 12 months, 89% of whom did so in spite of uncontrolled seizures. Driving was independently associated with male sex, higher income, occurrence of simple partial seizures, age at epilepsy onset over 18 years and monotherapy treatment. Seventeen patients (only male) had accidents due to seizures, which were independently associated with lower education and age at epilepsy onset over 18 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identification of variables associated with driving and traffic accidents may help to minimize risks and improve the quality of life of patients with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Neurociências Aplicadas (CeNAp), Hospital Universitário (HU), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Alice Horta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bicalho
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sukys-Claudino
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guarnieri
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Walz
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001334:Automobile Driving; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004522:Educational Status; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants