Zachary Lenz, student pharmacist
With Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team
In 1967, Steppenwolf wrote their hit Born to Be Wild. The song begins by telling listeners to “Get your motor runnin’/Head out on the highway/Lookin' for adventure” and we have an image in our head; cruising down an open road in our dream car, radio playing our favorite tune and feeling the freedom of adventure. We even go back to the excitement of passing our driving test, obtaining that coveted driver’s license and gaining the independence of exploration. For some of us, it opens a conversation if it is safer to leave the car in the garage and take a ride in the passenger seat due to the use of some medications.
In September, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study focusing on medications that alter road test performances among healthy older adults with good cognitive function. Based on previous literature, older adults are at a greater risk of being involved in an automotive accident compared to middle-aged adults. There could be multiple factors contributing to this claim, including being frail and having more cognitive impairment.
