Frequency and correlates of driving status among the oldest old: results from a large, representative sample

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the light of the restricted knowledge, our aim was to explore the frequency and correlates of driving status among the oldest old.

METHODS: Data came from the representative "Survey on quality of life and subjective well-being of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW80 +)" consisting of community-dwelling and institutionalized individuals ≥ 80 years residing in the most populous German state (North Rhine-Westphalia; n = 1,832 in the analytical sample, mean age: 86.5 years). The present driving status (no; yes, I drive myself; yes, as a passenger; yes, as driver and passenger) served as outcome measure.

RESULTS: Overall, 43.62% (95% CI 40.98-46.29%) of the individuals did not drive, whereas 30.12% (95% CI 27.75-32.59%) of the individuals drove by themselves, 20.97% (95% CI 18.91-23.20%) of the individuals drove as a passenger, and 5.29% of the individuals drove both (by themselves and as a passenger) (95% CI 4.16-6.71%). Multinomial logistic regressions showed, e.g., that being male (RRR: 0.13, 95% CI 0.09-0.18), younger age (RRR: 0.88, 95% CI 0.84-0.91), being married and living together with spouse (RRR: 1.48, 95% CI 1.08-2.02), living in a private household (RRR: 0.04, 95% CI 0.01-0.35), better self-rated health (RRR: 1.26, 95% CI 1.02-1.56), and lower functional impairment (RRR: 19.82, 95% CI 12.83-30.62) were positively associated with 'Yes, I drive myself' (compared to not driving a car).

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: A sizable proportion of the individuals aged 80 years and above still drove by themselves. Less than half of the oldest old individuals did not drive. Moreover, our current study identified some correlates of driving status among individuals in latest life.