Vision impairment, eye disease, and injurious motor vehicle crashes in the elderly

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Abstract
The objective of this case-control study was to identify visual risk factors for vehicle crashes by elderly drivers which result in injury. The sample consisted of licensed current drivers between 55 and 87 years of age who resided in Jefferson County, Alabama. Subjects were identified through Alabama Department of Public Safety (ADPS) files. Two groups of cases were identified. One group (N=78) was defined as those drivers who had incurred at least one vehicle crash between 1985 and 1990 resulting in an injury to anyone in the involved vehicles according to the accident report. The other case group (N=101) consisted of drivers involved in non-injurious crashes during the same time period. Controls (N=115), also selected from ADPS files, were older drivers not involved in crashes during the same five-year period. Subjects underwent a battery of visual processing tests and a comprehensive eye examination. The main results were that restricted useful field of view and glaucoma were the only significant inde...