Study on the relationship between 5-HT, 5-HTP levels in peripheral blood and drivers' accident proneness

Objective To investigate the relationship between 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HT), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) level in peripheral blood and the drivers' accident proneness. Methods A case-control study was applied to this study. The motor vehicle drivers who had 3 or more times the same responsibility of road traffic accidents from January 2008 to December 2012 were selected as the cases, and other drivers who had not happened road traffic injuries during the same period with similar gender, vehicle type, age and driving years less than 2 years old as the control group. Results The levels of 5-HT and 5-HTP in the case group were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the low level of 5-HT and the low level of 5-HTP were related to motor vehicle drivers' accident proneness (all P<0.05). Conclusions The driver accident proneness is related to the level of 5-HT and 5-HTP. 5-HT and 5-HTP levels were protective factors of drivers' accident proneness.