Psikiyatrik Hastalık ve Tedaviler Sürücülük Becerisini Etkiler mi?

Objectives: There are few studies in the world literature on psychiatric disorders and driving, even more less in Turkish literature. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of psychiatric disorders and psychopharmacological treatments on driving functions. Method: A semistructured questionnaire form contains 22 questions for psychiatric disorders, drug treatments and driving abilities was applied to 822 psychiatric outpatients from four separate cities of Turkey (Istanbul, Bolu, Antalya and Nevþehir) during three months. Results: More than half of the patients (50.5%) had driving license. DSM-IV diagnosis of the patients was anxiety disorders (49.9%), mood disorders (37.1%), psychotic disorders (8.6%) and the others (4.4%). Four-fifths (79.8%) of the patients had driving license declared that they went on to drive. 21 patients (6%) declared that they were driving although they hadn't driving license. According to their answers, 32.4% of patients didn't avoid to drive when they were drunk. 22.7% of them reported insight about decreasing on their driving performance since beginning their disorders, but 80% of this group was going on to drive. 20.5% of the driving patients have an insight about decreasing on their driving skills. Conclusion: Our study is the first in Turkey investigate the effects of psychiatric states on driving performance. It is expected the results of studies like this shed light on the legislation on the psychiatric evaluation for driving license and road traffic rules for psychiatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]