Prevalence of older drivers in Brazil: results from Vigitel 2018

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of Brazilian older adults who drive a car/ride a motorcycle, according to sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS: This cross-sectional study uses data from the 2018 Surveillance System for Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (Vigitel). The prevalence of drivers was determined by an affirmative answer to the following question: “Do you drive a car, motorcycle and/or other vehicle?”. RESULTS: Among the 15,333 individuals aged 65 and over living in Brazilian capitals and the Federal District, the overall prevalence of drivers was 28.73% (95%CI 27.22 – 30.29) and was higher among men (53.37%; 95%CI 50.45 – 56.28), those with higher education (65.44%; 95%CI 61.98 – 68.75), and individuals aged 65 to 69 years (35.7%; 95%CI 33.06 – 38.61). Among the regions of Brazil, prevalence varied from 35% (Midwest and South) to approximately 22% (North and Northeast). Florianopolis (42.2%; 95%CI 38.05 – 46.47) and Palmas (40.32%; 95%CI 32.74 – 48.38) were the cities with the highest prevalence of older drivers. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics such as sex, age group, region, and state capital of residence affect the prevalence of older drivers. Our results contribute to knowledge about how older adults choose to move around in large Brazilian cities, enabling proposal of strategies to improve the quality of this population’s displacement.

Predicting driving decline and assessing crash risk in a globally aging population

“…In Europe and Japan, older drivers will make up a quarter of all drivers much earlier (2030) 2 . In Brazil, estimates of older drivers follow similar trends and range from 22-35% 3 . Conversely, motor vehicle crashes kill 1.35 million persons annually, are the eighth leading cause of death across all ages, cost $1.8 trillion (2010 USD) annually, and differentially impact low and middle income countries financially, along with a higher death rate 4 .…”

Factors Associated With Driving Status Among Brazilian Older Adults

“…These studies were conducted with a non-probability sample and addressed aspects such as non-fragility and license to drive (Lenardt et al, 2018), lower extremity function (Binotto et al, 2019), and determinants of braking time (Alonso et al, 2016). Recently, Hauser et al (2020) estimated the prevalence of drivers aged 65 and older in a nationally representative sample. However, population-based studies investigating health conditions and health-related behaviors among Brazilian older drivers were not found in the literature (Pubmed, until 09/2021).…”

“…Despite the importance of driving in old age, few studies have investigated older Brazilian drivers (Alonso et al, 2016; Binotto et al, 2019; Hauser et al, 2020; Lenardt et al, 2018). These studies were conducted with a non-probability sample and addressed aspects such as non-fragility and license to drive (Lenardt et al, 2018), lower extremity function (Binotto et al, 2019), and determinants of braking time (Alonso et al, 2016).…”