Citation

Bulmash EL, Moller HJ, Kayumov L, Shen J, Wang X, Shapiro CM. J. Affect. Disord. 2006; 93(1-3): 213-218.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Psychology, Queens University, Canada. 4elb1@qlink.queensu.ca

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2006.01.015

PMID

16522332

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Psychomotor disturbance is an essential feature of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and has been associated with impaired functioning on cognitively demanding tasks. Given the psychomotor demands required to navigate a motor vehicle and the disastrous effects of motor vehicles accidents, patients with MDD present a population of clinical interest. The goal of this investigation was to examine the association between MDD and driving ability assessed within a simulated driving paradigm. METHODS: 18 outpatients currently meeting diagnostic criteria for MDD and 29 control participants completed four 30-min simulated driving trials at 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. Participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess for depression severity and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to assess for everyday sleepiness. RESULTS: After controlling for age and sleepiness, the depressed sample exhibited slower steering reaction times across trials (p<.05) and an increased number of crashes across trials (p<.05) when compared to controls. These differences were characterized by a medium effect size. No significant time-of-day effects were found. LIMITATIONS: MDD patients were free of anti-depressant medication and findings may not generalize to medicated populations. Also, a rural highway driving route was used which may not generalize well to urban driving settings. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with untreated MDD demonstrate impaired simulated driving performance. Further research into whether these findings translate into on-the-road impairment is important for public health and safety.

Language: en