Questionnaire Survey on Driving among Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Japan

This study aimed to assess driving capabilities in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causing unilateral blindness or paracentral scotoma without vision deterioration.

Of the 275 patients with AMD who responded to a questionnaire regarding car driving at Osaka University Hospital, we excluded 78 patients who answered that they had never driven. Finally, 197 patients were included (50 with bilateral and 142 with unilateral AMD). We investigated the relationship between the questionnaire findings and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).

The mean age was 74.8 ± 6.9 years, and the mean BCVA in the right and left eyes were 0.48 and 0.47, respectively. A negative correlation was observed between the proportion of patients who stopped driving due to AMD and the vision in the worse eye (p < 0.0001); however, 66% of participants were still driving. Regardless of the BCVA, 84% of them wished to continue driving. Concerning perceived dangerous situations, all patients reported an oversight of people or signals and night driving; further, patients with unilateral and bilateral vision deterioration reported vision narrowness and difficulty with discerning signal colours, respectively.

Despite the associated danger, patients with AMD continued driving. Close attention should be paid to the driving activities among patients with AMD, even if they have passed the relevant driving tests.