Is Mild Dementia Related to Unsafe Street-Crossing Decisions ?
DOMMES ; WU ; AQUINO ; PITTI-FERRANDI ; SOLEILLE ; MARTINEAU-FLEURY ; SAMSON ; RIGAUD
Type de document
ARTICLE A COMITE DE LECTURE REPERTORIE DANS BDI (ACL)
Langue
anglais
Auteur
DOMMES ; WU ; AQUINO ; PITTI-FERRANDI ; SOLEILLE ; MARTINEAU-FLEURY ; SAMSON ; RIGAUD
Résumé / Abstract
The overrepresentation of very old people (75 or older) in pedestrian crash statistics raises the issue of the effects of normal and pathologic ageing on gap-selection difficulties during street crossing. The present study focused on Alzheimer disease, a condition commonly associated with cognitive declines detrimental to daily life activities such as crossing the street. Twenty-five participants with mild dementia and 33 controls carried out a streetcrossing task in a simulated environment. They also took a battery of cognitive tests. The mild-dementia group was more likely than the control group to make decisions that led to collisions with approaching cars, especially when the traffic was coming from 2 directions and they were in the far lane. Regression analyses demonstrated that the increased likelihood of collisions in the dementia group was associated with impairments in processingspeed and visual-attention abilities assessed on the Useful Field of View test. This test has already proven useful for predicting driving outcomes, falls, and street-crossing difficulties in healthy old adults, and among drivers with Alzheimer disease. Clinicians are encouraged to use it to help estimate whether a patient can drive, walk, and cross a street safely.
Source
Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, num. 4, pp294-300 p.
Editeur
Wolters Kluwer Health
