Differences in road-crossing decisions between healthy older adults and patients with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract Introduction This study investigated the differences in road-crossing behavior among healthy older adults and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method Twelve pedestrians with mild AD and 24 age-, gender-, and education-matched controls were examined with a battery of cognitive, visual, and motor tests. Using a simulated two-lane, one-way road-crossing situation, we determined the remaining time and safety margin for each participant in traffic situations involving different vehicle speeds (40 km/h vs. 60 km/h vs. 80 km/h), time gaps (5 s vs. 7 s vs. 9 s), and time of day (dusk vs. midday). Results We found that patients with AD were more vulnerable to traffic crash while crossing the road than healthy older adults (Odds Ratio = 2.50, P  Practical applications These results provide important suggestions for road design for patients with AD and healthy older adults during road-crossing.