Introduction: Older drivers with driving anxiety tend to drive less often, shorter distances, and have lower driving performance than those without it. Subjective memory concerns (SMC) is associated with the experience of car collisions, but whether older drivers with SMC have driving anxiety is unknown. This study aimed to examine the association between SMC and driving anxiety among older Japanese drivers.
Method: This cross-sectional study used data from a Japanese community-based cohort study from 2015 to 2018. Participants were community-dwelling older adults aged at least 60 years, and 4217 drivers (71.0 ± 4.9 years old, 17.4% female) who normally drive in six situations including rain, highway, changing lanes, continuous two or more hours, night, and unknown road were included in the analysis. Participants were asked about five items of SMC and above six situations of driving anxiety by yes/no questions.
Results: Cochran–Armitage tests showed linear positive trend between the number of SMC applicable items and the percentage of having driving anxiety in six situations (all P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed as the number of SMC applicable items increased, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of driving anxiety in all situations significantly increased referred to those without SMC (rain: 1.49-3.07, highway: 1.74-3.66, changing lanes: 1.75-3.27, continuously driving: 1.99-5.38, night: 1.61-3.06, and unknown road: 1.72-3.73, all P for trend < 0.001). Even after excluding 389 drivers who experienced car collisions in two years, consistent results were observed.
Conclusions: Older Japanese drivers with SMC have driving anxiety under various situations.