Many believe that the health status of older drivers places them at greater risk for motor vehicle accidents. This study examines the association between several medical conditions and motor vehicle accidents resulting in injury. It uses the case-control study design as the method of study as crashes are rare events and several disease conditions are relatively rare in their occurrence. The study was based upon members in the Group Health Cooperative HMO. Cases were individuals who received medical care for injuries sustained in a crash where they were the driver. Accidents were identified from police reports. Controls were a random selection of HMO members who had not been injured in a crash. Collision injuries were identified from a review of the HMO database. Information on existing health conditions were also gathered from the database. All subjects were mailed a questionnaire to ascertain driving patterns, driving exposure, and health habits.

Overall, the study found higher crash rates in subjects with diabetes, but not in subjects with several other medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, arthritis, and depression. This study was based upon police accident reports, so events with injuries that were not reported are not included. Also, the sample sizes of subjects with several of the conditions were small (less than 10) indicating limited ability to detect small to moderate associations.

Source: Koepsell TD, Wolf ME, McCloskey L, Buchner DM, Louie D, Wagner EH, Thompson RS. Medical conditions and motor vehicle collision injuries in older adults.