LEIS, Adriana M.; ITURRY, Mónica L.; SERRANO, Cecilia M.    ALLEGRI, Ricardo F.. Attentional skills associated with poor performance in older adults´ driving. Neuropsicologia Latinoamericana []. 2015, 7, 3, pp.36-46. ISSN 2075-9479.  https://doi.org/10.5579/rnl.2015.0221.

Driving is a daily routine and is essential for many people. Driving involves cognitive skills such as perception, attention, motor control, working memory and decision-making. Evaluating the ability to drive has become a public health concern within the majority of industrialized countries. Older drivers seem to be at a higher risk of accidents due to their functional limitations. The objective of the study was to develop an assessment instrument that can help us to detect older population who are at risk of driving, rate the necessary cognitive functions needed to perform a better driving and finally, evaluate whether the 2 main test administered and recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA) (TMTb and Clock Test) can be applied to our aging population. We analyzed 83 cases that attended to the Laboratory of Memory at Hospital Zubizarreta- from Buenos Aires in the last year for the purpose of performing a cognitive control. They were assessed with a semi-structured interview and later with a neurocognitive evaluation that included evaluation of immediate and delayed recall of verbal episodic and logical memory, attentional skills, visuoconstruction, linguistic ability and executive functions, an inventory of impulsiveness and a scale of risk driving, developed for this specific purpose. The results showed that at greater risk behavior and cognitive complaint referred by the individuals, there were greater attentional disorders found. Also, lower scores in tests that evaluate the overall mental state, attention, language and memory are predictors of a greater risk of accidents and a dangerous driving at the public via.

: Risk of driving; Aging; Cognitive skills; Driving.

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