{
  "abstract": "Objective To investigate whether being born preterm with very low birth weight (VLBW), lower best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) or a history of a psychiatric or somatic diagnosis is associated with, or mediates, not having obtained a driver’s licence at adult age.Methods and analysis Potential predictors of no driver’s licence were investigated in participants with a mean age of 36 years and BCVA above the legal limit to drive from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Low Birth Weight Life Study, Norway, and the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults, Finland, (VLBW n=119, term-born controls n=149).Results Participants with no driver’s licence (n=34) had lower BCVA than participants with a driver’s licence (mean logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution (SD) −0.03 (0.11) vs −0.101 (0.09), p<0.001. Being born with VLBW and lower BCVA was associated with no driver’s licence (OR, 2.5 (95% CI 1.1 to 5.8) and 1.1 per unit (95% CI 1.0 to 1.2), respectively. BCVA was not a mediator of the effect of being born preterm with VLBW.Conclusion In a population with good visual acuity, being born preterm with VLBW was a predictor for not having a driver’s licence, while lower visual acuity further increased this likelihood. A history of a somatic or psychiatric diagnosis was not associated. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the relatively small sample size and a non-negligible statistical uncertainty. The causal relationship between being born preterm and not holding a driver’s licence remains to be investigated.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway",
        "Department of Ophthalmology, St. Olav hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Tora Sund Morken"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway",
        "Department of Ophthalmology, St. Olav hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Dordi Austeng"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Welfare Epidemiology and Monitoring Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland",
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Maarit Kulmala"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Welfare Epidemiology and Monitoring Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland",
        "Clinical Medicine Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland",
        "Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Eero Kajantie"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway",
        "Children’s Clinic, St. Olav hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway",
        "Department of Rehabilitation Science and Health Technology, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Kari Anne Indredavik Evensen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland"
      ],
      "name": "Anna Majander"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Driver’s licence in an adult population with good vision: an exploratory study in two longitudinal very low birthweight cohorts",
  "uid": "a1684a2b-1577-5759-8693-47b225259e51"
}