Association between Sarcopenia, Its Defining Indices, and Driving Cessation in Older Adults

Driving a car is essential for older adults to support their activities of daily living and maintain their quality of life. However, physical function - which often declines with age - is a key factor to determine whether older adults can continue driving safely. As such, we sought to examine the association between sarcopenia and driving cessation in older adults.

A prospective study.

A community setting.

We conducted a study including 2,874 older adult participants from the community (mean age: 71.0 ± 4.7 years [range: 65-93 years], women: 36.3%).

We assessed whether they were still driving at baseline examination as well as their degree of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was assessed according to the clinical definition provided by the EWGSOP2 by measuring muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance represented by gait speed. Driving cessation was determined based on driving status at the initial visit and at a follow-up examination approximately 15 months later.

At the baseline assessment, there were 62 participants (2.2%) with confirmed sarcopenia and 23 participants (0.8%) with severe sarcopenia. Participants were classified into either the ongoing driving (n = 2816) or driving cessation (n = 58) group. Low muscle strength and low muscle mass were associated with driving cessation (low muscle strength: odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-3.87; low muscle mass: OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.04-3.85). Slow gait was not associated with driving cessation (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.68-2.69). Significantly, sarcopenia was associated with driving cessation (confirmed sarcopenia: OR 4.48, 95% CI 1.63-12.29; severe sarcopenia: OR 4.46, 95% CI 1.21-16.41).

Sarcopenia is associated with an increased likelihood of driving cessation in community-dwelling older adults. Evaluation of physical function related to sarcopenia would be useful for judgment of the ability to drive safely among older adults.