MONDAY, Nov. 27, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- People with Parkinson's disease are especially prone to making driving mistakes if they're distracted while behind the wheel, a U.S. study finds.
"Clearly, Parkinson's disease can affect the ability to drive, and that effect grows as the disease progresses. People with Parkinson's disease should be aware of this potential decline in driving ability, and their family and friends should also monitor it and then re-check periodically," principal investigator Dr. Ergun Uc, a neurologist at the University of Iowa and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City, said in a prepared statement.
Researchers conducted on-road driving tests with 71 people with mild to moderate Parkinson's and a control group of 147 people of similar age with no neurological disorders. While driving, the participants were asked to pretend they were talking with a passenger or using a cell phone.
When distracted in this way, 28 percent of Parkinson's patients made more driving-safety mistakes than when they weren't distracted. In contrast, 16 percent of those in the control group made excess mistakes while distracted.
Parkinson's patients who made more mistakes and demonstrated a poorer ability to control their speed and steering when distracted also did worse on tests of memory, balance, vision, and the ability to switch attention between competing tasks. They were also more likely to have excessive daytime sleepiness, the researchers found.
The study was published in the journal Neurology.
"The abilities of people with Parkinson's disease varied greatly, which in some ways is not surprising because this disease affects people very differently," Uc said.
More information
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more about driving when you have Parkinson's disease.
