ADHD Increases Risk for Car Crashes in Older Adults

THURSDAY, Oct. 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Older adult drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher risk for car crashes when compared with their peers without ADHD, according to a study published online Oct. 4 in JAMA Network Open.

Yuxin Liu, M.P.H., from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues examined the prevalence of ADHD and the association between ADHD and crash risk among older adult drivers. The analysis included 2,832 participants (aged 65 to 79 years) in the Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers project who were active drivers at baseline and studied for up to 44 months through in-vehicle data recording devices and annual assessments.

The researchers found that the lifetime prevalence of ADHD in the study sample was 2.6 percent, and older adult drivers with ADHD had significantly higher incidence rates of hard-braking events per 1,000 miles versus those without ADHD (1.35 versus 1.15), as well as self-reported traffic ticket events per 1 million miles (22.47 versus 9.74) and self-reported vehicular crashes per 1 million miles (27.10 versus 13.50). When adjusting for baseline factors, ADHD was associated with a significant increased risk for hard-braking events (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR], 1.07; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.02 to 1.12), self-reported traffic ticket events (aIRR, 2.02; 95 percent CI, 1.42 to 2.88), and self-reported vehicular crashes (aIRR, 1.74; 95 percent CI, 1.26 to 2.40).

"These findings suggest that effective interventions to improve the diagnosis and clinical management of ADHD among older adults are warranted to promote safe mobility and healthy aging," the authors write.

Several authors reported ties to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

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