Frailty and poor physical functioning as risk factors for driving cessation

Front Public Health. 2024 May 3:12:1298539. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1298539. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: Frailty and low physical performance are modifiable factors and, therefore, targets for interventions aimed at delaying driving cessation (DC). The objective was to determine the impact of frailty and physical performance on DC.

Methods: Multisite prospective cohort of older drivers. The key inclusion criteria are as follows: active driver age 65-79 years, possessing a valid driver's license, without significant cognitive impairment, and driving a 1996 car or a newer model car. Of the 2,990 enrolled participants, 2,986 (99.9%) had at least one frailty or Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) measure and were included in this study. In total, 42% of participants were aged 65-69 years, 86% were non-Hispanic white, 53% were female, 63% were married, and 41% had a high degree of education. The Fried Frailty Phenotype and the Expanded Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) from the National Health and Aging Trends Study were utilized. At each annual visit, DC was assessed by the participant notifying the study team or self-reporting after no driving activity for at least 30 days, verified via GPS. Cox proportional hazard models, including time-varying covariates, were used to examine the impact of the SPPB and frailty scores on time to DC. This assessment included examining interactions by sex.

Results: Seventy-three participants (2.4%) stopped driving by the end of year 5. Among women with a fair SPPB score, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of DC was 0.26 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10-0.65) compared to those with a poor SPPB score. For those with a good SPPB score, the adjusted HR of DC had a p-value of <0.001. Among men with a fair SPPB score, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of DC was 0.45 (95% CI 0.25-0.81) compared to those with a poor SPPB score. For men with a good SPPB score, the adjusted HR of DC was 0.19 (95% CI 0.10-0.36). Sex was not an effect modifier between frailty and DC. For those who were categorized into pre-frail or frail, the adjusted ratio of HR to DC was 6.1 (95% CI 2.7-13.8) compared to those who were not frail.

Conclusion and relevance: Frailty and poor physical functioning are major risk factors for driving cessation. Staying physically active may help older adults to extend their driving life expectancy and mobility.

Keywords: driving cessation; driving outcomes; frailty; older adults; physical performance.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Automobile Driving* / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Frail Elderly / statistics & numerical data
  • Frailty*
  • Geriatric Assessment
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Physical Functional Performance
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Factors

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS). This research was supported in part by a grant 1 R49 CE002096-01 from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to the Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention at Columbia University. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.