Comparison of Driving Difficulty Between Bilateral Cataract and Non-Cataract Elderly Drivers in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

An age-related ocular disease such as cataract that causes reduction of visual functions would affect the individual driving performance. The aim of this research was to compare driving difficulties between Malaysian drivers with bilateral cataracts and without cataract. This cross-sectional study involved measurement of visual functions [visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS)] and driving difficulty of 61 respondents who had valid driving license and actively driving. Subjects were divided into cataract group (n=30) and age/gender matched non-cataracts as control group (n=31). Results showed the mean±SD for composite driving difficulty score in cataract group and in control group were 72.08±15.95 and 87.50±12.60 respectively. Results also showed significant mean difference composite driving difficulty score between cataract and control group (p=0.000). Cataract drivers also have significant difficulty driving in raining (p=0.034) and at night (p=0.013) compared to drivers without cataract. Details inter-group analysis result showed that reduced VA and CS were two main findings among cataract drivers with driving difficulty. This study showed that drivers with cataract would experience driving difficulties compared to the drivers without cataract, especially in low contrast situations.

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JSKM-2021-1901-16