Study Investigates the Impact of Driving Stoppage on Social Isolation of Older Adults

A study published in the Journal of Aging and Health found driving is essential to seniors who want to remain independent, and its loss enforces feelings of isolation, reports News-Medical . The researchers focused on nearly 7,000 people 65 and older who were eligible to drive. Roughly 20 percent stopped driving over five years, while almost 60 percent continued to drive, with another 20 percent nondrivers at the time of the study. Twenty percent of subjects were categorized as not socially isolated, 58 percent were somewhat isolated, and 21 percent were socially isolated. Case Western Reserve University's Weidi Qin said those feeling isolation tended to be male, with lower educational levels and income. Nondrivers were twice as likely as active drivers of having greater social isolation, while increasing age more strongly correlated with socially isolation compared with younger participants. In general, social isolation scores rose when seniors stopped driving, and lingered during the six-year assessment.