Citation

Rizzo D, Baltzan M, Grad R, Postuma R. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2023; 95: 261-270.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2023.04.014

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Sleep disorders have been implicated as a cause of motor vehicle crashes in select populations through reduced cognitive function. We investigated the impact of insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on reaction times and driving performance in the population-based cohort of older adults in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Risk of OSA was classified by the positive responses to the STOP-BA(N)G questionnaire. Time-dependent cognitive function was formally evaluated in all participants with choice reaction times (CRT). Of 30,097 participants, 2657 (8.8 %) met criteria for insomnia and 2092 (7.0 %) were classified as high risk of OSA. Insomnia was equally distributed in all risk categories for OSA. Both self-reported lane position errors and driving safety were more often described as worse in moderate and higher risk groups for OSA although there was also a marginal association with improved driving safety. This is in spite of the fact that daily driving frequency was reported more often with higher risk categories of OSA. Choice reaction times were on average longer in both moderate (845.7 ± 245 msec) and higher (860.2 ± 263 msec) risk groups for OSA compared to participants with low risk of OSA (860.2 ± 266 msec). Insomnia was not associated with driving performance, lane position errors and CRT. Subgroups with categories based upon OSA risk groups with and without insomnia showed no distinct relationship beyond the association with OSA risk categories alone. Too few responses were recorded to assess near miss and motor vehicle crashes. We conclude that objective slower reaction times and poorer self-reported driving performance were associated with the risk of OSA but not insomnia.

Language: en

Keywords

CLSA; Cognition; Driving behaviors; Insomnia; OSA