Department of Public Health, University of Turin, Italy.
BMC Public Health. 2011 Jul 1;11:526. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-526.
Only few studies with small experimental samples investigated the impact of psychoactive substances on driving performance. We conducted a multicenter international cross-sectional study to evaluate the correlation between alcohol use and driving-related skill as measured by brake reaction time (RT).
Before and after the entrance into randomly selected recreational sites from six European countries, all subjects aged 16-35 years, owning a driver license, were asked to compile a structured socio-demographic questionnaire and measure RT (SimuNomad3 driving simulator), breath alcohol concentration (BAC; Drager Alcoltest), and drug use (Oratect III saliva test, only at the exit). Mixed regression modeling was used to evaluate the independent association between RT and alcohol concentration or drug use.
Before the entrance into the recreational site, 4534 subjects completed all assessments and composed the final sample. Their mean age was 23.1±4.2 y; 68.3% were males; 54.7% had BAC>0 g/L (assumed alcoholics); 7.5% declared illegal drug assumption (mostly cannabis). After the exit, 3019 also completed the second assessment: 71.7% showed BAC>0 g/L. Controlling for age, gender, educational level, occupation, driver license years, and drug use, BAC was positively associated with RT, achieving significance, however, only when BAC was higher than 0.49 g/L. Significant interaction terms were found between BAC and female gender or drug use, with highest RTs (>1 sec.) recorded among drug users with BAC>or=1 g/L.
This field study confirms previous experimental data on the negative impact of alcohol use on driving-related skill, supporting regulations and educational campaigns aimed at discouraging driving after consumption of psychoactive substances.
仅有少数针对精神活性物质对驾驶表现影响的小型实验样本研究。我们开展了一项多中心国际横断面研究，评估了酒精使用与制动反应时间（RT）测量的驾驶相关技能之间的相关性。
在来自六个欧洲国家的随机娱乐场所入口处之前和之后，所有年龄在 16-35 岁、拥有驾驶执照的受试者都被要求填写一份结构化的社会人口统计学问卷，并测量 RT（SimuNomad3 驾驶模拟器）、呼气酒精浓度（BAC；Drager Alcoltest）和药物使用（Oratect III 唾液检测，仅在出口处）。混合回归模型用于评估 RT 与酒精浓度或药物使用之间的独立关联。
在进入娱乐场所之前，4534 名受试者完成了所有评估并组成最终样本。他们的平均年龄为 23.1±4.2 岁；68.3%为男性；54.7%的 BAC>0 g/L（假定为酗酒者）；7.5%声称使用非法药物（主要是大麻）。在出口处，有 3019 人也完成了第二次评估：71.7%的 BAC>0 g/L。在控制年龄、性别、教育水平、职业、驾驶执照年限和药物使用的情况下，BAC 与 RT 呈正相关，但仅当 BAC 高于 0.49 g/L 时才具有统计学意义。在 BAC 和女性性别或药物使用之间发现了显著的交互作用项，在 BAC>或=1 g/L 且使用药物的受试者中记录到最高的 RT（>1 秒）。
这项现场研究证实了先前关于酒精使用对驾驶相关技能的负面影响的实验数据，支持旨在劝阻在使用精神活性物质后驾驶的法规和教育活动。
