Does gender affect the driving performance of young patients with diabetes?. (March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ridel, Dana; Borowsky, Avinoam; Shalev Shamay, Rotem; Hershkovitz, Eli; Parmet, Yisrael; Haim, Alon
• Is Part Of: Accident analysis and prevention. Volume 167(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-03
• Subjects: Gender -- Driving performance -- Diabetes -- Driving simulator -- Hazard perception -- Eye movements; Accidents -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Accident Prevention -- Periodicals; Accidents -- Prévention -- Périodiques; 363.106
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2022.106569
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0001-4575

Abstract

Highlights: Diabetic drivers are at increased risk of being involved in road crashes. Female and male patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus driving a simulator were compared. Analysis of results found fewer physical and cognitive limitations among males and suggests that gender does make a difference in two ways. First, young female drivers are more affected by diabetes than are young male drivers, regardless of momentary glycemic changes. Second, poor glycemic control substantially deteriorates the hazard perception and driving performance of young diabetic males. Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that poor glycemic control among young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has negative cognitive and physical effects, whose extent is gender-dependent. For example, female patients with diabetes present more physical and cognitive limitations than male patients in terms of cognitive adjustment, quality of decision making, and functioning. Studies about traffic safety report that diabetic drivers are at increased risk of being involved in road crashes, especially when driving in a state of hypoglycemia under which their blood glucose level is too low. We have recently demonstrated that acute hyperglycemia (when the blood glucose level is too high) can also lead to poor driving performance among T1DM young adult patients. Against this background, the objective of the present study was to find out whether gender affects the driving performance of young drivers with diabetes. Twenty-six T1DM drivers participated in a counterbalanced crossover experiment. While being monitored by an eye tracker, they drove a driving simulator and twice navigated through the nine hazardous scenarios: once under a normal blood glucose (euglycemia) level and once high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) level. The first main result is that young female drivers are more affected by diabetes than young male drivers, regardless of momentary glycemic changes. The second main result is that poor glycemic control substantially deteriorates hazard perception and driving performance of young males with diabetes. Thus, it is argued that an uncontrolled state of a high blood glucose level may be more hazardous for young males with diabetes since it negatively impacts their driving performance.