Alonso Angelica C, Peterson Mark D, Busse Alexandre L, Jacob-Filho Wilson, Borges Mauricio T A, Serra Marcos M, Luna Natalia M S, Marchetti Paulo H, Greve Júlia M D A
Laboratory for the Study of Movement, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Graduate Program in Aging Science, São Judas Tadeu University (USJT), São Paulo, Brazil.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, USA.
Exp Gerontol. 2016 Dec 1;85:13-17. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2016.09.006. Epub 2016 Sep 8.
Despite the well-known declines in driving performance with advancing age, there is little understanding of the specific factors that predict changes in key determinants such as braking time.
The aims of this study were to determine the extent to which age, muscle strength, cognition and postural balance are associated with braking performance in middle-aged and older adults.
Male and female middle-aged adults (n=62, age=39.3±7.1years) and older adults (n=102, age=70.4±5.8years) were evaluated for braking performance, as well as in several motor and cognitive performance tasks. The motor evaluation included isokinetic ankle plantar flexor muscle strength, handgrip strength, and postural balance with and without a cognitive task. The cognitive assessment included the Mini Mental State Examination. Braking performance was measured using a driving simulator.
Older adults exhibited 17% slower braking time, lower strength, and poorer performance in the postural balance (p<0.001). For both older and middle-aged adults, significant correlates of braking time included performance in the postural balance tests, muscle strength, and cognitive function. However, after full model adjustment, only postural balance and cognitive function were significantly associated.
Muscle strength, postural balance, and cognition are associated with braking time, and may affect the safety of and driving performance in older adults. These findings may help to inform specific targeted interventions that could preserve driving performance during aging.
尽管随着年龄增长驾驶性能下降已广为人知，但对于预测诸如制动时间等关键决定因素变化的具体因素却知之甚少。
本研究旨在确定年龄、肌肉力量、认知和姿势平衡与中老年成年人制动性能之间的关联程度。
对62名中年成年人（年龄=39.3±7.1岁）和102名老年成年人（年龄=70.4±5.8岁）进行了制动性能评估，以及多项运动和认知性能任务评估。运动评估包括等速踝关节跖屈肌力量、握力以及有无认知任务时的姿势平衡。认知评估包括简易精神状态检查表。使用驾驶模拟器测量制动性能。
老年人的制动时间慢17%，力量较低，姿势平衡表现较差（p<0.001）。对于老年人和中年成年人，制动时间的显著相关因素包括姿势平衡测试表现、肌肉力量和认知功能。然而，在进行完全模型调整后，只有姿势平衡和认知功能显著相关。
肌肉力量、姿势平衡和认知与制动时间相关，可能会影响老年人的驾驶安全性和驾驶性能。这些发现可能有助于为特定的有针对性干预措施提供信息，从而在衰老过程中保持驾驶性能。
