O B J E C T I V E—Diabetic drivers are at a greater risk to be involved in road accidents. Acute hyperglycemia (AH) impairs cognitive skills, sensory capabilities and motor responses. However, no study has investigated the effects of AH on driving. We evaluated the effects of AH on type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) drivers` skills in comparison to euglycemic state.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— 18 T1DM drivers (24± 5 years) were asked to navigate through nine hazardous scenarios in a driving simulator during continuous euglycemic state (ES) (138 ±34 mg\dL) and AH (321±29 mg\dL) in a crossover design.
Driving performance was continually monitored by the driving simulator system which collects a large number of vehicle parameters, other vehicles and obstacles, and by a mobile eye tracking system that is able to monitor the participant’s eyes movements on the virtual world.
R E S U LT S
1.Participants under AH were less likely to identify a hazard-Probability of identification (POI): 56.6±0.5 compared to ES. POI: 68.6±0.5) p
C O N C L U S I O N S— Driving performance of T1DM young patients is significantly impaired at AH state.
