| Summary: | Seraina Agramunt,1 Lynn B Meuleners,1 Michelle L Fraser,1 Kyle C Chow,1 Jonathon Q Ng,2,3 Vignesh Raja,4 Nigel Morlet2,3 1Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC), Curtin University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Perth, Australia; 2Eye & Vision Epidemiology Research (EVER) Group, Perth, Australia; 3School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; 4Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Australia Objectives: To analyze the association between visual impairment and driver self-regulation among a cohort of older drivers waiting for first eye cataract surgery.Methods: Ninety-six drivers with bilateral cataract aged 55+ years were assessed before first eye cataract surgery. Data collection consisted of a researcher-administered questionnaire, objective visual measures (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and stereopsis), a visual attention test (the useful field of view test) and a cognitive test (the Mini-Mental State Examination). Driver self-regulation practices were collected using the Driving Habits Questionnaire and were also measured with an in-vehicle monitoring device. Characteristics of self-regulators and non-self-regulators were compared and a logistic regression model was used to examine the association between 3 objective visual measures and driver self-regulation status.Results: After controlling for potential confounding factors, only binocular contrast sensitivity (p=0.01), age (p=0.03) and gender (p=0.03) were significantly associated with driver self-regulation status. The odds of participants with better contrast sensitivity scores (better vision) self-regulating their driving in at least 1 driving situation decreased (odds ratio [OR]: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.00–0.28) while those of increasing age reported an increased odds of self-regulating their driving (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01–1.15). The odds of males self-regulating their driving was decreased compared with females (OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09–0.86).Conclusions: Worse binocular contrast sensitivity scores, increasing age and being female were significantly associated with driver self-regulation. The study highlighted that while self-regulation was common among cataract patients, a proportion of those with poor vision did not self-regulate. Further research should determine how cataract patients could benefit from self-regulation strategies while waiting for cataract surgery. Keywords: driver self-regulation, older drivers, naturalistic data, cataract, contrast sensitivity, driving, visual impairment
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