A new study shows that data from car GPS systems can find cognitive issues earlier than genetic tests. This method correctly identified individuals with an 82% success rate and could change how we diagnose these conditions.

St. Louis/Berlin – Sudden braking, shorter trips, and fewer drives at night: these everyday driving habits might be key to finding Alzheimer’s disease early. Researchers at Washington university School of Medicine found that GPS data from cars can predict cognitive problems more accurately than factors like age or genetic tests.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, followed 298 older adults for up to 40 months. The results were better than expected: driving data alone correctly identified those affected with 82% accuracy. When combined with medical data, this rate increased to an impressive 87%.

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Your Car Sees What You Might Miss

Almost 300 seniors – with an average age of 75 – agreed to have GPS trackers installed in their vehicles. 56 of them already had mild cognitive impairment, while the rest were considered healthy. The devices recorded every mile, every route, and every braking action.

the algorithms found patterns that people might not notice. The most important patterns were:

• Changes in route choice: those affected started avoiding driving at night and repeated familiar routes.
• more aggressive driving: More frequent braking and acceleration, and more speeding.
• Smaller driving area: The distance they drove was reduced to 5 to 10 miles.

“We could use GPS data to identify who developed cognitive problems more accurately than using conventional factors alone,” explains study leader Ganesh Babulal.