title: A Preliminary Study of New Parents, Sleep Disruption, and Driving: A Population at Risk?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Drowsy driving is estimated to be a causal factor in 2-16 % of vehicular crashes. Several populations are reported to be at high risk for drowsy driving accidents, including shift workers, teenage drivers, medical residents, and pilots. Although new parents are known to have significant sleep disruption, no study has investigated vehicular accidents or near miss accidents in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A preliminary cross-sectional, anonymous survey of parents who had given birth within the previous 12 months. Participants were asked about their sleep, including validated measures of sleep disruption, their driving patterns, and information about near miss traffic accidents and actual crashes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 72 participants were enrolled. A large proportion of participants had poor sleep including approximately 30 % with daytime sleepiness, 60 % with poor daytime function and two-thirds with poor sleep quality. The mean sleep duration was only 6.4 h. Although most participants drove <100 miles per week, 22.2 % reported at least one near miss accident and 5.6 % reported a crash. Sleep problems were more common in those with near miss accidents and actual crashes than in those without. Of note, poor sleep quality was associated with a sixfold increase in near miss accidents even after accounting for other factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poor sleep is common in new parents and we provide preliminary evidence that sleep disruption in this population is associated with near miss motor vehicle accidents. Drowsy driving results in thousands of unnecessary serious injuries and fatalities each year; raising public awareness that new parents are a high-risk group is important.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sleep Disorders Center, Michael Aldrich Sleep Disorders Laboratory, University of Michigan, C728 Med Inn, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Box 5845, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-0845, USA.
authors.forename: Sterling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malish
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sleep Disorders Center, Michael Aldrich Sleep Disorders Laboratory, University of Michigan, C728 Med Inn, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Box 5845, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-0845, USA.
authors.forename: Fatema
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arastu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sleep Disorders Center, Michael Aldrich Sleep Disorders Laboratory, University of Michigan, C728 Med Inn, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Box 5845, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-0845, USA. louiseo@med.umich.edu.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. louiseo@med.umich.edu.|Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. louiseo@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Louise M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005221:Fatigue; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012892:Sleep Deprivation; D013383:Suburban Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Drowsy driving; Infant; Motor vehicle accident; Near-miss; Postpartum