Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of Brazilian patients with epilepsy who drive and their association with traffic accidents

Abstract

Identification of variables associated with driving and traffic accidents may help to minimize risks and improve the quality of life of patients with epilepsy.

Disobedience and driving in patients with epilepsy in Greece

“…However, we showed that the less AEDs the patient receives, the higher the likelihood of being disobedient regarding driving. This observation is concordant with observations in Brazil [12], West China [9], and Korea [14]. We hypothesize that patients receiving less AEDs may consider their illness as not severe enough and, thus, may be violating the law believing that they will not have a seizure when driving.…”

“…Gender differences in behaviors among people with epilepsy have been described in many studies. Among patients with epilepsy, the male gender has also independently been associated with driving in Brazil [12], West China [9], the USA [13], and Korea [14].…”

Return to driving after a diagnosis of epilepsy: A prospective registry study

“…23 Being seizure-free and being on no or a single AED may be surrogate markers for mild epilepsy, good disease management, or fewer adverse effects of AEDs making them safe for patients to resume driving, 20,21,23,24 all of which would increase the chance of participants meeting the standard to resuming driving. 23 Being seizure-free and being on no or a single AED may be surrogate markers for mild epilepsy, good disease management, or fewer adverse effects of AEDs making them safe for patients to resume driving, 20,21,23,24 all of which would increase the chance of participants meeting the standard to resuming driving.…”

“…23 Being seizure-free and being on no or a single AED may be surrogate markers for mild epilepsy, good disease management, or fewer adverse effects of AEDs making them safe for patients to resume driving, 20,21,23,24 all of which would increase the chance of participants meeting the standard to resuming driving. 20,21,24,27 Seizure etiology (ie, idiopathic vs cryptogenic and symptomatic) was not associated with driving in the month before the diagnosis of epilepsy, or with returning to driving in the preceding 8 months at 12-month assessment, which is consistent with previous studies, 12,20,21 but in discrepancy with 1 study of people with childhood-onset epilepsy. We also note that 1 previous study noted both decreased seizure frequency and fewer AEDs in the final model, 23 whereas other studies identified 1 of them not associated with driving in univariate analysis.…”

“…7,12,[20][21][22][23] Owning accommodation has not been investigated in previous studies, but higher household income has been associated with driving, both reflecting family wealth. 21,23,24 Interestingly, people with a family history of epilepsy were less likely to drive in the month before their diagnosis.…”