Benefits of Higher Cardiovascular and Motor Coordinative Fitness on Driving Behavior Are Mediated by Cognitive Functioning: A Path Analysis
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.686499
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Summary
This study investigates whether the relationship between physical fitness and driving performance in older adults is mediated by cognitive functioning. While driving is essential for maintaining independence in older age, it becomes increasingly cognitively demanding, particularly when performing additional tasks (dual-tasking). Although physical fitness is known to support cognitive health, it remained unclear if higher fitness levels indirectly improve driving behavior through enhanced cognitive resources. The researchers aimed to determine if cardiovascular and motor coordinative fitness influence dual-task driving performance via specific fluid cognitive functions. The study analyzed data from 120 healthy older adults (mean age 69.56 years) recruited from two phases of a larger project. Participants underwent assessments for cardiovascular fitness (peak oxygen consumption), motor coordinative fitness (a composite score of static balance, psychomotor speed, and bimanual dexterity), and four fluid cognitive functions: updating, inhibition, shifting, and processing speed. Driving performance was evaluated using a virtual reality simulator where participants followed a lead car while simultaneously performing cognitively demanding secondary tasks, such as reasoning or typing. The primary driving outcomes were lane keeping (variability in lateral position) and speed control (mean velocity). Structural equation modeling (path analysis) was employed to test the hypothesized indirect effects of fitness on driving through cognitive mediation. The results confirmed that both cardiovascular and motor coordinative fitness were positively associated with specific cognitive functions, particularly processing speed and updating. These cognitive functions, in turn, were significantly related to dual-task driving performance. Specifically, motor coordinative fitness demonstrated a significant indirect effect on lane keeping, mediated by cognitive functioning. Cardiovascular fitness showed a trend-level indirect effect on speed control. The analysis revealed that higher fitness levels were linked to better cognitive performance, which subsequently facilitated more stable lane keeping and speed control during complex driving scenarios. Direct effects of fitness on driving were not the primary focus, as driving is a low-physical-demand activity; instead, the cognitive pathway was the significant mechanism. These findings suggest that the benefits of physical fitness on driving safety in older adults are largely mediated by cognitive functioning. Higher cardiovascular and motor coordinative fitness appear to preserve or enhance the executive functions and processing speed necessary for managing the cognitive load of dual-task driving. The study highlights the importance of maintaining physical activity in older age not only for general health but also as a preventive measure for driving safety. By supporting cognitive resources, physical fitness may help older adults maintain the ability to drive safely in complex, real-world conditions, thereby preserving their mobility and quality of life.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-08-09 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-08-09 |
| extract | success | pdftotext | — | — | 4 | 2026-08-10 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 2 | 2026-08-10 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 2 | 2026-08-10 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 2 | 2026-08-10 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-08-09 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-nvidia | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-08-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 17 | 2026-08-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-08-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-nvidia on 2026-08-10; verification: verified.
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