A multimodal assessment of driving performance in HIV infection

TitleA multimodal assessment of driving performance in HIV infection
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsMarcotte, TD, Wolfson, TJ, Rosenthal, TJ, Heaton, RK, Gonzalez, RG, Ellis, RJ, Grant, I, HNRC
JournalNeurology
Volume63
Issue8
Pagination1417-22
Date Published10/2004
KeywordsAccidents, Automobile Driving, Internal, Psychomotor Disorders, Psychomotor Performance, Traffic, User-Computer Interface
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine if HIV-seropositive (HIV+) individuals are at risk for impaired driving. METHODS: Sixty licensed drivers (40 HIV+, 20 HIV-) completed a neuropsychological (NP) test battery and driving assessments. Eleven HIV+ subjects were NP-impaired. Driving-related skills were assessed using 1) two driving simulations (examining accident avoidance and navigational abilities), 2) the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test, and 3) an on-road evaluation. RESULTS: HIV+ NP-impaired subjects had greater difficulty than cognitively intact subjects on all driving measures, whereas the HIV- and HIV+ NP-normal groups performed similarly. On the UFOV, the HIV+ NP-impaired group had worse performance on Visual Processing and Divided Attention tasks but not in overall risk classification. They also had a higher number of simulator accidents (1.3 vs 2.0; p = 0.03), were less efficient at completing the navigation task (3.2 vs 9.2 blocks; p = 0.001), and were more likely to fail the on-road evaluation (6 vs 36%; p = 0.02). Impairment in Executive Functioning was the strongest NP predictor of failing the on-road drive test. NP performance and both simulations independently contributed to a model predicting 48% of the variance in on-road performance. CONCLUSION: HIV+ NP-impaired individuals are at increased risk for on-road driving impairments, whereas HIV+ individuals with normal cognition are not at a significantly higher risk than HIV- subjects. Executive Functioning is most strongly associated with impaired on-road performance. Cognitive and simulator testing may each provide data in identifying driving-impaired individuals.

URLhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15505158