A multimodal assessment of driving performance in HIV infection
Title | A multimodal assessment of driving performance in HIV infection |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2004 |
Authors | Marcotte, TD, Wolfson, TJ, Rosenthal, TJ, Heaton, RK, Gonzalez, RG, Ellis, RJ, Grant, I, HNRC |
Journal | Neurology |
Volume | 63 |
Issue | 8 |
Pagination | 1417-22 |
Date Published | 10/2004 |
Keywords | Accidents, 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. |
URL | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15505158 |