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Updated: Jul 23, 2025
Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects
Published on: September 18, 2012
15-year incidence of driving cessation and associated risk factors: The Blue Mountains Eye Study
Helen Nguyen1, Gian Luca Di Tanna2, Vu Do3
1School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, The University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia; Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Objectives:
To report the 15-year incidence of driving cessation and its associated vision-related risk factors in an older Australian population-based cohort.
Study Design:
15-year data from a sample of 2379 participants who indicated that they were driving at baseline from The Blue Mountains Eye Study was analysed. Questions about driving cessation was asked at all four visits and was recorded as a binary response (Yes/No). Clinical vision examinations were performed at each visit to determine presenting and best-corrected visual acuity and any incident eye diseases (Yes/No).
Main Outcome Measures:
The cumulative 15-year incidence of driving cessation was calculated using interval-censored data progression-free survival analyses. Age- and sex-adjusted and multivariable-adjusted interval-censored Cox proportional hazard models were used to report the hazard ratios (HRs) for associations of baseline and incident vision status with driving cessation.
Results:
The 15-year cumulative incidence of driving cessation amongst the 2379 participants was 20.7 %, with women more likely to cease driving than men (p = 0.0005). Cataract (HR 1.98 (95 % confidence interval(Cl) 1.45-2.71)) and age-related macular degeneration (HR 1.85 (95%Cl 1.37-2.50)) were associated with increased risk of driving cessation whilst presenting and best-corrected visual acuity in the better eye were protective against cessation (presenting: HR 0.96 (95%Cl 0.95-0.98); best-corrected: HR 0.93 (95%Cl 0.91-0.95)) in age- and sex-adjusted models, with these factors remaining independently associated in the multivariable-adjusted models.
Conclusion:
Cumulative incidence of driving cessation increased with older age and was higher in females. Cataract and age-related macular degeneration were independently associated with cessation, whilst better visual acuity at baseline helped prolong driving.
