Sleep disorders, medical conditions, and road accident risk
Accident Analysis & Prevention. 2011-03-01; 43(2): 533-548
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.004
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1. Accid Anal Prev. 2011 Mar;43(2):533-48. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.004.
Sleep disorders, medical conditions, and road accident risk.
Smolensky MH(1), Di Milia L, Ohayon MM, Philip P.
Author information:
(1)The University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center, United States.
Sleep disorders and various common acute and chronic medical conditions directly
or indirectly affect the quality and quantity of one’s sleep or otherwise cause
excessive daytime fatigue. This article reviews the potential contribution of
several prevalent medical conditions – allergic rhinitis, asthma, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis – and chronic
fatigue syndrome and clinical sleep disorders – insomnia, obstructive sleep
apnea, narcolepsy, periodic limb movement of sleep, and restless legs syndrome –
to the risk for drowsy-driving road crashes. It also explores the literature on
the cost-benefit of preventive interventions, using obstructive sleep apnea as an
example. Although numerous investigations have addressed the impact of sleep and
medical disorders on quality of life, few have specifically addressed their
potential deleterious effect on driving performance and road incidents. Moreover,
since past studies have focused on the survivors of driver crashes, they may be
biased. Representative population-based prospective multidisciplinary studies are
urgently required to clarify the role of the fatigue associated with common
ailments and medications on traffic crash risk of both commercial and
non-commercial drivers and to comprehensively assess the cost-effectiveness of
intervention strategies.
Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.004
PMID: 21130215 [Indexed for MEDLINE]