Objective:

To analyze the association between cognition and the final results of physical and mental fitness tests for vehicular habilitation in the elderly.

Methodology:

This is a cross-sectional study carried out at accredited traffic clinics to perform vehicle habilitation tests. The probabilistic sample consisted of 421 elderly (≥ 60 years). Data were collected through the Mini-Mental State Examination (mmse) and consultation in the National Registry of Qualified Drivers. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-squared tests were used to analyze the data. Values of p ≤ 0.05 indicated statistical significance.

Results:

For the mmse, the average score was 27.13 ± 2.53 points, 92.2 % (n= 388) presented normal cognition and 7.8 % (n = 33) cognitive impairment. Regarding the results of the physical and mental fitness tests for vehicle habilitation, 71.5 % (n = 301) were considered fit with restriction, 21.9 % (n = 92) fit and 6.7 % (n = 28) temporarily unfit. There was a significant association between the results of vehicular habilitation and cognitive scores (p < 0.001) and there was no association with cognitive categories (p = 0.172). The lowest cognition scores were identified in elderly which were considered fit with restriction and temporarily unfit.

Conclusion:

The results show inconsistency of the mmse to evaluate cognition. It is recommended to the traffic clinics to use the mmse with caution, as a tool of cognitive screening in elderly drivers.

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