Changes in life satisfaction during the transition to retirement: findings from the FIREA cohort study

Supporting older adults who misuse alcohol

Older adulthood is a unique time of transition often referred to as the 'golden years'. It is characterised by positive life experiences such as retirement but also by a loss of routine, identity and meaning. The literature identifies alcohol misuse as a growing issue in this population. However, the stigma, perceptions and patterns of drinking associated with alcohol misuse among older people can be a barrier to individuals seeking health advice. This article identifies that older adulthood is a period when nurses can offer health education and support using their unique relationships with patients to encourage healthy drinking behaviours.

Temporal stability of optimism and pessimism (LOT-R) over 6 years in the general population

Objective

The aims of this study were to examine changes in habitual optimism over a six-year period and to analyze the relationship between changes in optimism and changes in other quality of life-related variables.

Method

A randomly selected community sample of the German adult general population (N = 4,965) was surveyed twice, with a time interval of 6.04 years.

Results

During the course of the 6 years, the mean score of the LOT-R total scale improved (effect size d = 0.11). The temporal stability in terms of the test-retest correlation was r = 0.61 for the total sample. There were only marginal gender differences in this temporal stability, however, the stability in the oldest age group ≥70 years (r = 0.50) was lower than the stability of the other age groups. The cross-sectional correlations showed clear relationships between optimism on the one hand and quality of life, life satisfaction, social support, and low levels of anxiety and physical complaints on the other. The corresponding longitudinal correlations between changes in optimism and changes in the other variables were less pronounced, but in the same direction.

Conclusion

The study confirmed the applicability of the LOT-R in longitudinal studies. In samples with participants of 70 years and above, the limited stability in the optimism assessments needs to be considered in clinical practice and epidemiologic research.

Paradox of life after work: A systematic review and meta-analysis on retirement anxiety and life satisfaction

Retirement is a pivotal life transition that often changes routines, identity, and objectives. With increasing life expectancies and evolving societal norms, examining the interplay between retirement anxiety and life satisfaction is vital. This study delves into this relationship, recognising the complexities of retirement. A systematic review and meta-analysis followed PRISMA guidelines. Research from 2003 to 2023 was sourced from databases like CINAHL, PubMed/Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Google Scholar, focusing on diverse methodologies and outcomes related to retirement registered in Prospero database (CRD42023427949). The quality assessment used an eight-criterion risk of bias scale, and analyses included qualitative and quantitative approaches, such as random-effects meta-analysis and moderator analyses. After reviewing 19 studies with varied geographical and demographic scopes, a mixed relationship between retirement and life satisfaction emerged: 32% of studies reported a positive relationship, 47% were negative, and 21% found no significant correlation. Meta-analysis indicated high heterogeneity and non-significant mean effect size, suggesting no consistent impact of retirement on life satisfaction. Moderator analyses highlighted the influence of measurement tools on outcomes. The findings reveal a complex interplay between retirement anxiety and life satisfaction, stressing the need for holistic retirement policies that encompass mental health, social integration, and adaptability, focusing on cultural sensitivity. Challenges include potential biases in data sources, methodological diversity, the scarcity of longitudinal studies, and difficulties in addressing recent societal shifts, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Variability in measurement tools and possible publication bias may have also influenced results. This study contributes to understanding retirement, emphasising the relationship between retirement anxiety and life satisfaction. It advocates for ongoing, detailed, culturally informed research to grasp retirement's multifaceted aspects fully.

Are changes in sleep problems associated with changes in life satisfaction during the retirement transition?

Retirement reduces sleep problems, but changes in life satisfaction during the retirement transition are multifactorial and partly unknown. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine whether changes in sleep problems are associated with changes in total and domain-specific life satisfaction during the retirement transition (on average 0.5 years before and 0.5 years after retirement). The study population consisted of Finnish public sector employees (n = 3518) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging (FIREA) study who responded to annual surveys before and after transition to statutory retirement. Sleep problems were measured with Jenkins Sleep Problem Scale questionnaire and participants were grouped into four sleep problem groups depending on the state of their sleep problems during the retirement transition: 'Never,' 'Decreasing,' 'Increasing,' and 'Constant' sleep problems. Life satisfaction was measured with the Life Satisfaction Scale questionnaire including four domains (interestingness, happiness, easiness, togetherness). We found that the improvement in total life satisfaction was greatest for participants in the 'Decreasing' (0.17, 95% CI 0.11-0.23, SMD 0.27) and 'Constant' (0.12, 95% CI 0.07-0.18, SMD 0.19) sleep problem groups. Of the specific life satisfaction domains, similar findings were observed only for the easiness domain. It seems that decreasing or constant sleep problems are associated with improved life satisfaction during the retirement transition, especially in the feeling of easiness of life. This may be due to the fact that as the demands of working life are removed, sleep problems are alleviated or it becomes easier to live with them, which improves life satisfaction.

Finnish Retirement and Aging Study: a prospective cohort study

PURPOSE

The Finnish Retirement and Aging (FIREA) Study was set up to study changes in health behavioural and cardiometabolic risk factors across retirement transition, and to examine the long-term consequences of work and retirement on health and functioning with advancing age.

PARTICIPANTS

Public sector workers whose estimated statutory retirement date was in 2014-2019 were invited to participate by sending them a questionnaire 18 months prior to their estimated retirement date. In the first phase of the FIREA Study, participants were followed up with annual surveys, accelerometer and clinical measurements during retirement transition into post-retirement years. The FIREA survey cohort includes 6783 participants, of which 908 belong also to the activity substudy and 290 to the clinical substudy.

FINDINGS TO DATE

Collected data include survey measures about health, lifestyle factors, psychosocial distress, work-related factors as well as retirement intentions. Accelerometer and GPS devices are used to measure 24-hour movement behaviours. Clinical examination includes blood and hair sample, measurements of anthropometry, cardiovascular function, physical fitness, physical and cognitive function. Our results suggest that in general retirement transition seems to have beneficial influence on health behaviours as well as on physical and mental health, but there are large individual differences, and certain behaviours such as sedentariness tend to increase especially among those retiring from manual occupations.

FUTURE PLANS

The second phase of the FIREA Study will be conducted during 2023-2025, when participants are 70 years old. The FIREA Study welcomes research collaboration proposals that fall within the general aims of the project.

Trajectories of hospitalizations after age-based statutory retirement

Retirement years are ideally spent in good health. We aimed to produce new information using person-oriented methods by identifying groups of statutory retirees who did or did not achieve this objective and the factors that distinguish these groups from each other. Our particular focus was on the years directly after the transition into retirement, and the pre-retirement factors that explained the development of health, using a more severe health-related outcome-hospitalization. We studied the retirement, hospitalizations, education, and work characteristics of former employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland (N = 6569), from complete registers. We used group-based trajectory models and identified groups of constant low, constant high, decreasing, and temporarily occurring hospitalizations, and one group of increasing hospitalizations among women and two groups of earlier and later increasing hospitalizations among men. Multinomial regression models showed that among women, belonging to groups with less favourable health was associated with secondary education, older age at retirement, and reduced working hours. Education and work characteristics before retirement both contribute to the development of health, as indicated by hospitalizations directly after retirement. Our findings show that socioeconomic inequalities in health are persistent and should also be addressed after transition into retirement.