Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between driving skills and cognitive function in patients with cerebrovascular disease and provide driving rehabilitation strategies based on actual vehicle driving training.

Methods: Participants included 25 patients with cerebrovascular disease who wished to resume driving. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery, and Trail Making Test were administered to assess cognitive function. Driving rehabilitation consisted of two driving sessions and verbal instruction from the driving school instructor between the first and second driving sessions. All of these sessions took place on the same day. The evaluation of actual vehicle driving was based on quantified point reduction items. This evaluation method is the evaluation scale used in the skill test for obtaining a Japanese automobile license and is based on the Japanese National Police Agency.

Results: MMSE scores were extracted as a factor influencing actual vehicle driving performance. Furthermore, the MMSE scores were entered into a stepwise multiple regression model, which revealed that MMSE scores were an important predictor of actual vehicle driving performance. Driving  rehabilitation resulted in improved actual vehicle driving performance. Moreover, the number of participants who passed the test increased from two to 11 (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Driving rehabilitation was found to have some positive effects, such as an increase in the pass rate for actual vehicle driving. However, it is necessary to consider the possibility that this effect could be due to the repetition of two driving sessions conducted on the same day.