Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010;29(2):154-63.
doi: 10.1159/000264631. Epub 2010 Feb 11.

The Wechsler Digit Symbol Substitution Test as the best indicator of the risk of impaired driving in Alzheimer disease and normal aging

Sylviane Lafont  1 , Claude Marin-Lamellet, Laurence Paire-Ficout, Catherine Thomas-Anterion, Bernard Laurent, Colette Fabrigoule
Affiliations

The Wechsler Digit Symbol Substitution Test as the best indicator of the risk of impaired driving in Alzheimer disease and normal aging

Sylviane Lafont et al. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2010.

Abstract

Aims: Our purpose was to identify cognitive tools associated with unsafe driving among elderly drivers of varying cognitive levels.

Methods: Twenty drivers with early-stage dementia of the Alzheimer type and 56 nondemented drivers aged 65-85 were recruited. Various cognitive processes were measured and unsafe driving was evaluated during an in-traffic road test with 3 different indicators and a composite indicator.

Results: The Wechsler Digit Symbol Substitution Test score was the best cognitive measure to detect unsafe drivers using the composite driving indicator.

Conclusion: The Digit Symbol Substitution Test may be used by physicians for the evaluation and follow-up of older patients, with or without Alzheimer-type dementia, as a screening tool of unsafe driving.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources