Health

Health condition suffered by millions makes people more dangerous drivers

December, 31, 2024-03:31

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Health condition suffered by millions makes people more dangerous drivers:

Having depression could make you more of a liability on the road as you age, according to a new study. Researchers from Washington University studied nearly 400 people 65 years and older for a year and found those with major depressive disorder were riskier drivers than those without the condition.
The participants with depression were more likely than those without to drive unpredictably, brake abruptly and take corners too quickly, all of which raise the risk of car accidents.

Approximately eight percent of American adults had major depressive disorder as of 2021 - representing about 21million people. It's unclear how many of those are elderly people, but the study authors wrote, late-onset depression in elderly people often goes undiagnosed, so it could be quite common in this age group. Doctors have known for a long time that older adults tend to get in more car crashes than younger adults - and have suggested that medication, dementia or mood disorders like depression could be behind the trend.

Researchers posit depression in older people makes them more likely to be reckless drivers because of the disorder's effects on concentration and reflexes. Here, they suggest depression could be a contributor and say early diagnosis of the condition in elderly people could make the road safer for everyone. In 2022, approximately 42,514 Americans died in motor vehicle crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Of those, about 5,626 people who passed were above age 70. As quality of life improves for older people and the average life span bumps older and older, the number of people over 65 in the US is expected to grow - reaching 88million by 2050.

That means that by that year, about one quarter of all people on the road will be above age 65. Even without depression, many elderly people see their reflexes start to decline and begin seeing some levels of cognitive changes that may make it harder to focus while driving. But these symptoms may become more pronounced with depression. In MDD, people's symptoms may interfere with their driving abilities. For example, many people with MDD may struggle to concentrate, according to Mayo Clinic, which might make driving more difficult. In other cases, people with the condition literally have slowed bodily movement and thinking, which can make it difficult to mount reflexes needed to react to things on the road.