People who’ve recently had a concussion might want to avoid driving for a while.
Concussion victims are more likely to be involved in a traffic crash, and that increased risk is highest during the first four weeks after their brain injury, researchers reported on November 6 in BMJ Open.
A concussion causes brain problems that can affect driving skills, including insomnia, dizziness, depression, brain fog, and slowed reaction times, researchers said.
Lead researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier, a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, stated in a news release: “I worry that sometimes a concussion requires more recovery time than most people realize.”
He added: “Rushing things might lead to another injury including a life-threatening traffic crash.”
Study Design
For the study, researchers analyzed medical records for more than 3 million patients in Ontario who suffered either a concussion or an ankle sprain between April 2002 and March 2022.
They identified more than 425,000 people who were treated for concussion and 2.6 million with an ankle sprain.
Key Findings
People with a concussion had an overall 49% higher risk of being in a traffic crash than those who’d sprained their ankle, the study found.
But their risk was six times higher in the first month following a concussion, researchers noted.
About 1 in every 13 concussion patients was injured in a subsequent traffic crash, researchers found.
Study Limitations and Recommendations
While the study couldn’t establish a cause-and-effect relationship, it does show a strong link between concussion and crash risk, researchers said.
They suggested that patients seek treatment for the symptoms of concussion that increase traffic risk, including insomnia, headaches, and depression.
They also should avoid high-speed driving during late-night hours in bad weather during the first month after their concussion.
Researcher Robert Tibshirani, a professor of statistics at Stanford University, stated in a news release: “These results highlight the importance of traffic safety following a concussion as well as preventing concussions in the first place.”
This research underscores the need for concussion patients to take driving restrictions seriously during recovery and suggests that healthcare providers should include driving safety discussions in their post-concussion care guidelines.
-300x169.jpg)
