title: Is Mild Dementia Related to Unsafe Street-Crossing Decisions?
abstract: The overrepresentation of very old people (75 or older) in pedestrian crash statistics raises the issue of the effects of normal and pathologic ageing on gap-selection difficulties during street crossing. The present study focused on Alzheimer disease, a condition commonly associated with cognitive declines detrimental to daily life activities such as crossing the street. Twenty-five participants with mild dementia and 33 controls carried out a street-crossing task in a simulated environment. They also took a battery of cognitive tests. The mild-dementia group was more likely than the control group to make decisions that led to collisions with approaching cars, especially when the traffic was coming from 2 directions and they were in the far lane. Regression analyses demonstrated that the increased likelihood of collisions in the dementia group was associated with impairments in processing-speed and visual-attention abilities assessed on the Useful Field of View test. This test has already proven useful for predicting driving outcomes, falls, and street-crossing difficulties in healthy old adults, and among drivers with Alzheimer disease. Clinicians are encouraged to use it to help estimate whether a patient can drive, walk, and cross a street safely.
authors.affiliation: *IFSTTAR, LEPSIS §Clinique Médicale de la Porte Verte ∥Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, site Richaud, Versailles †Hôpital Broca, GH Paris Centre, AP-HP ‡EA 44 68, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dommes
authors.forename: Ya-Huei
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Aquino
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pitti-Ferrandi
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soleille
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martineau-Fleury
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samson
authors.forename: Anne-Sophie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rigaud
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000069636:Pedestrians / Q000523:psychology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*