Department of Public Health, North Dakota State University, Dept. 2662, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA.
Research Service, Fargo VA Health Care System, 2101 North Elm Street, Fargo, ND, 58102, USA.
J Community Health. 2018 Oct;43(5):827-832. doi: 10.1007/s10900-018-0489-x.
Veterans are at an increased risk of being injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes, potentially due to their proclivity to engage in risky driving behaviors. However, most research in this area has focused on driving behaviors of veterans who have recently returned home after deployment. No research has focused on risky driving behaviors of older veterans (aged 65 or older) and if risky driving behaviors extend beyond the time period immediately following return from deployment. The purpose of this research is to determine if differences exist in risky driving behaviors of veterans and non-veterans aged 65 or older. This study used data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trend Study (NHATS), a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of community-dwelling, Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted in 2017 to determine if veteran's status was predictive of specific risky driving behaviors. Veteran's status was found to be predictive of specific driving behaviors for adults aged 65 and older, with non-veterans significantly more likely than veterans to: not currently drive; avoid driving at night; avoid driving alone; avoid driving on busy roads or highways; and avoid driving in bad weather. The results of this study highlight the need to further understand the effects of veteran's status on risky driving behaviors among older adults, specifically, whether veteran's status compounds driving-related risks associated with aging-related physical and mental changes.
退伍军人在机动车事故中受伤或死亡的风险增加，这可能是由于他们倾向于从事危险的驾驶行为。然而，该领域的大多数研究都集中在最近部署回国后的退伍军人的驾驶行为上。没有研究关注年龄在 65 岁或以上的老年退伍军人的危险驾驶行为，也没有研究关注这些行为是否会在部署返回后的时间段之外继续存在。本研究旨在确定 65 岁或以上的退伍军人和非退伍军人之间是否存在危险驾驶行为的差异。本研究使用了 2011 年国家健康与老龄化趋势研究（NHATS）的数据，这是一项对居住在社区、65 岁或以上、有医疗保险的受益人的全国代表性、纵向调查。2017 年进行了二元逻辑回归分析，以确定退伍军人的身份是否能预测特定的危险驾驶行为。退伍军人的身份被发现可以预测 65 岁及以上成年人的特定驾驶行为，与退伍军人相比，非退伍军人更有可能：目前不驾车；避免夜间驾车；避免独自驾车；避免在繁忙的道路或高速公路上驾车；避免在恶劣天气下驾车。这项研究的结果强调了需要进一步了解退伍军人身份对老年人危险驾驶行为的影响，特别是退伍军人身份是否会加剧与年龄相关的身体和精神变化相关的驾驶风险。
