PREDICTORS OF CRASHES AND MOVING VIOLATIONS IN A DIVERSE SAMPLE OF OLDER WOMEN: THE WHIMS STUDIES

摘要

The US population is aging and licensure rates are increasing among older drivers. The factors associated with crashes and moving violations among older women are not well characterized. Our aim was to determine the predictors of crashes and moving violations among participants in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Memory Study-Epidemiology of Cognitive Health Outcomes (WHIMS-ECHO) and the WHI Memory Study of Young Women (WHIMS-Y), comprised of geographically diverse cohorts of older US women. Participants were enrolled in the WHI hormone therapy trial at ages 50–54 (WHIMS-Y) and 65–79 (WHIMS-ECHO). A telephone questionnaire assessing driving status, self-reported crashes, and moving violations in the previous year was administered to surviving WHIMS-ECHO and WHIMS-Y participants from September 2013 to June 2015. Given the age differences between participants in the two groups, we evaluated the cohorts separately: N=1029 respondents in WHIMS-Y (mean age 70.6±SD 1.7) and N=1716 in WHIMS-ECHO (86.0 ± 3.4 years). Results showed that self-reported crashes were more common in the older WHIMS-ECHO cohort (105.32 v.80/1000 person-years), but moving violations more common in WHIMS-Y (35.56 v 9.2/1000 person years). Predictors of a combined measure of all adverse driving outcomes were: older age (p=0.03 WHIMS-Y, p<0.001 WHIMS-ECHO) and less social support in both cohorts (p=0.02, p=0.009), while lower cognitive scores predicted more events in WHIMS-ECHO (p= 0.004). Future analyses will further explore the predictors of adverse driving events and aim to identify
interventions.