Automobile driving in older adults: factors affecting driving restriction in men and women.

Objectives: To identify factors associated with driving restriction in elderly men and women.

Design: Prospective cohort study of French drivers from 2003 to 2009.

Setting: The Three-City Cohort of Bordeaux, a prospective study of 2,104 people aged 65 and older.

Participants: Five hundred twenty-three drivers with a mean age of 76 (273 male, 250 female).

Measurements: Sociodemographic characteristics, driving habits, health variables, cognitive evaluation and dementia diagnosis. Predementia was defined as no dementia at one follow-up and dementia at the next follow-up.

Results: Over the 6-year period, 54% of men and 63% of women stopped driving or reduced the distance they drove. Predementia, Parkinson's disease, older age, and a high number of kilometers previously driven were common restriction factors in both sexes. Prevalent dementia, depressive symptomatology, a decline in one or more instrumental activities of daily living, and poor visual working memory were specific factors in men. In women, low income, fear of falling, slow processing speed, and severe decline in global cognitive performance all affected driving restriction.

Conclusion: Older women restricted their driving activity more than older men, regardless of the number of kilometers previously driven, physical health, and cognitive status. Factors affecting driving restriction differed according to sex, and women were more likely to stop driving than men in the period preceding a dementia diagnosis.