Concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning during retirement transition-a multi-trajectory analysis

BACKGROUND

Physical activity and physical functioning have been reported to change over retirement transition, but the results have been inconsistent, and the two constructs have not been studied concurrently. The objective of this study was to examine concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning during transition to retirement among public sector employees, and to examine if occupation, sex, marital status, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption and smoking status are associated with observed different multi-trajectory paths.

METHODS

3,550 participants of the Finnish Retirement and Aging study responded to an annual survey on physical activity and physical functioning (SF-36) before and after retirement. Group-based multi-trajectory analysis was used to identify clusters with dissimilar concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning. Multinomial regression analysis was used to describe the associations between covariates and the probability of being classified to a certain cluster.

RESULTS

Participants were 63.4 (SD 1.4) years old, 83% women, 65% professional workers. Four trajectories of concurrent changes in physical activity and physical functioning were identified, one with decreasing physical functioning and low activity, one with increasing high activity and stable high functioning and two with fluctuating moderate physical activity and stable high functioning. Single, women, obese participants and risk-users of alcohol were more likely to be classified into group with low physical activity and declining physical functioning.

CONCLUSIONS

Low physical activity below the level usually recommended was associated with lower physical functioning during retirement transition. These findings could be useful when planning interventions for retirees to maintain their physical functioning level.

Trajectories in physical functioning by occupational class among retiring women: the significance of type of retirement and social and health-related factors

BACKGROUND

Occupational class inequalities in physical functioning and their changes after retirement are poorly understood. We examined occupational class trajectories in physical functioning 10 years before and after transition to old-age and disability retirement. We included working conditions and behavioural risk factors as covariates, given their established link to health and retirement.

METHODS

We used the Helsinki Health Study cohort data from surveys 2000-2002 to 2017, and included 3901 women, who were employed by the City of Helsinki, Finland, and retired during the follow-up. Mixed-effect growth curve models were used to examine changes in RAND-36 Physical Functioning subscale (range 0-100) 10 years before and after the retirement date by occupational class.

RESULTS

Old-age (n=3073) and disability retirees (n=828) lacked class differences in physical functioning 10 years before retirement. By retirement transition, physical functioning declined and class inequalities emerged, the predicted scores being 86.1 (95% CI 85.2 to 86.9) for higher class and 82.2 (95% CI 81.5 to 83.0) for lower class old-age retirees, and 70.3 (95% CI 67.8 to 72.9) for higher class and 62.2 (95% CI 60.4 to 63.9) for lower class disability retirees. Physical functioning declined and class inequalities slightly widened among old-age retirees after the retirement, whereas among disability retirees the decline plateaued and class inequalities narrowed over time after retirement. Physical work and body mass index somewhat attenuated the class inequalities after adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS

Class inequalities in physical functioning widened after old-age retirement and narrowed after disability retirement. The examined work and health-related factors contributed weakly to the inequalities.

Physical activity and psychological adjustment among retirees: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Health-related behaviors may change after retirement and induce changes in the mental health. This systematic review aimed to investigate the nature of changes in physical activity and leisure activities, as well as the relationship between physical activity, leisure, and psychological adjustment among retirees.

METHODS

Search of papers was done in three electronic databases of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus without constraints on time, geographical regions, or languages in February 2022. The papers that had examined the relationship between physical activity and adjustment among retirees using observational design (cross-sectional or longitudinal) were included in the present study. To evaluate the methodological quality of cross-sectional studies, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist, and for longitudinal studies, Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) were used.

RESULTS

The search results identified 1458 records. Twenty-six papers were included in this review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings of most of these studies indicated a significant positive correlation between physical activity, leisure, and psychological adjustment in retirees. Retirees were mostly engaged in passive leisure activities such as reading, watching TV and movies, and less engaged in physical activities, sport, or physical exercise. General organized assessment of the total physical activity among retirees was not possible.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the study findings, it can be stated that there is a positive correlation between physical activity, leisure, and the retirees' adjustment. Usage of the same and valid measurement method specific to old age and retirement period can be useful in more precise assessment of physical activity and its association with adjustment among retirees.

Impact of residing in neighborhoods of high social participation on health of retired workers: A multilevel analysis using nationwide longitudinal data in Japan

Retirement is a key determinant of health among middle-aged and older adults. Social participation (SP) has a favorable impact on health outcomes. Combining these two issues, we examined how neighborhood-level SP may affect the health outcomes of retired workers. We used 94,661 longitudinal observations of 13,185 full-time workers aged 50–59 years in 2005 from a nationwide 14-wave survey conducted in Japan from 2005 to 2018. First, we computed neighborhood SP using an econometric method. We then conducted multilevel analysis to examine how neighborhood SP, retirement, and their interaction affected the probabilities of SP, poor self-rated health (SRH), problems in activities of daily living (ADL), and psychological distress (SD). The estimation results showed that retirement in a high-SP neighborhood reduced the probabilities of poor SRH, ADL problems, and SD by 1.1 (95% confidence interval [CI]:0.5–1.7), 0.9 (95% CI:0.0–1.8), and 2.1 (95% CI:0.6–3.7) percentage points, respectively. These effects were substantial in magnitude, considering that the prevalence of poor SRH, ADL problems, and SD were 3.7%, 7.4%, and 18.5%, respectively, among retired men. In contrast, such interaction effects between retirement and neighborhood SP were not observed among the women. The results suggest that policy measures to encourage SP at the neighborhood level should be developed to help individuals enjoy a healthier life in retirement.

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Interaction between neighborhood social participation and retirement was examined.

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High neighborhood social participation enhanced health of retired workers.

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Impact of neighborhood social participation was observed mainly among men.

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Policy measures to encourage neighborhood social participation should be developed.

Retirement as a predictor of physical functioning trajectories among older businessmen

BACKGROUND

Associations between retirement characteristics and consequent physical functioning (PF) are poorly understood, particularly in higher socioeconomic groups, where postponing retirement has had both positive and negative implications for PF.

METHODS

Multiple assessments of PF, the first of which at the mean age of 73.3 years, were performed on 1709 men who were retired business executives and managers, using the RAND-36/SF-36 instrument, between 2000 and 2010. Questionnaire data on retirement age and type of pension was gathered in 2000. Five distinct PF trajectories were created using latent growth mixture modelling. Mortality- and covariate-adjusted multinomial regression models were used to estimate multinomial Odds Ratios (mOR) on the association between retirement characteristics and PF trajectories.

RESULTS

A one-year increase in retirement age was associated with decreased likelihood of being classified in the 'consistently low' (fully adjusted mOR = 0.82; 95%CI = 0.70, 0.97; P = 0.007), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.83, 0.96; P = 0.002), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.87, 0.98; P = 0.006) trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Compared to old age pensioners, disability pensioners were more likely to be classified in the 'consistently low' (mOR = 23.77; 95% CI 2.13, 265.04; P = 0.010), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 8.24; 95%CI = 2.58, 26.35; P < 0.001), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 2.71; 95%CI = 1.17, 6.28; P = 0.020) PF trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory.

CONCLUSIONS

Among executives and managers, older age at retirement was associated with better trajectories of PF in old age. Compared to old age pensioners, those transitioning into disability and early old age pensions were at risk of having consistently lower PF in old age.

Retirement, social support and mental well-being: a couple-level analysis

Social support is increasingly acknowledged as an important resource for promoting well-being. We test whether social support changes around retirement. We also examine whether social support moderates dynamics in mental well-being around retirement and consider both own and spouse's retirement drawing on a unique longitudinal, couple-level data set from Australia. We observe descriptively no effect of own or spouse's retirement on social support. However, those with high social support do experience a small but statistically significant improvement in mental well-being post retirement. Using pension eligibility as an instrument, we find that own retirement causally improves mental well-being for women and by a similar degree for those with low/high social support. We also estimate responses to life satisfaction and find evidence that spill-over benefits from spousal retirement are larger for individuals with low social support.

Transition to retirement impact on health and lifestyle habits: analysis from a nationwide Italian cohort

Background

Retirement is a life-course transition likely to affect, through different mechanisms, behavioural risk factors’ patterns and, ultimately, health outcomes. We assessed the impact of transitioning to retirement on lifestyle habits and perceived health status in a nationwide cohort of Italian adults.

Methods

We analysed data from a large cohort of Italian adults aged 55–70, derived from linking six waves of the Participation, Labour, Unemployment Survey (PLUS), a national survey representative of the Italian workforce population, conducted between 2010 and 2018. We estimated relative-risk ratios (RRR) of transition to retirement and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for selected behavioural risk factors and health outcomes using multivariable logistic regression models. We used propensity score matching (PSM) to account for potential confounders.

Results

We included 5169 subjects in the study population, of which 1653 retired between 2010 and 2018 (exposed, 32%). Transition to retirement was associated with a 36% increased probability of practising sports (RRR 1.36, 95% CI 1.12–1.64). No statistically significant changes were reported for smoking habit (current smoker RRR: 1.18, 95% CI 0.94–1.46) and BMI (overweight/obese RRR: 0.96, 95% CI 0.81–1.15). Overall, retiring was associated with improved self-rated health status (RRR 1.26, 95% CI 1.02–1.58).

Conclusion

Individual data-linkage of multiple waves of the PLUS can offer great insight to inform healthy ageing policies in Italy and Europe. Transition to retirement has an independent effect on perceived health status, physical activity and selected behavioural risk factors. It should be identified as a target moment for preventive interventions, with particular reference to primary prevention so as to promote health and wellbeing in older ages.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11670-3.

The impact of retirement on mental health

After 2020, with Chinese baby boomers growing old, more and more working people will step into retirement. What kind of influence retirement behaviour will have on the mental health of the older adults and whether the existing findings of retirement on the mental health of the older adults are applicable to China's current conditions? The answers are related to the improvement of the well being of older adults and future policy orientation. Based on the China Family Tracking Survey data in 2016 and 2018, the paper employed the Ordinary Least Squares, Two Stage Least Squares, and Propensity Score Matching methods to investigate the effect of retirement on the mental health of older adults in China. Results show that retirement can significantly reduce the depression and has a positive impact on the their mental health, and no chronic diseases, poor economic status and shorter education years are conducive to improve mental health of the elderly. Further, the mechanisms differ between the sexes that while exercise is a positive mediator for both sexes, reading and family dinners are positive mediators for men but not for women.

The contribution of physical working conditions to sickness absence of varying length among employees with and without common mental disorders

Aims: The aim was to examine whether the contribution of physical work exposures to the risk of sickness absence (SA) is different between those with and without common mental disorders (CMD). Methods: We used questionnaire data on four work exposures and CMD from 6159 participants of the Helsinki Health Study cohort with 12,458 observations from three surveys (2000–2002, 2007 and 2012). We formed combination exposures for the work exposures (hazardous exposures, physical workload, computer and shift work) with CMD. Associations with SA of different length were examined with negative binomial regression models. Results: We observed stronger associations for CMD with SA than for the individual work exposures. The strength of the associations for hazardous exposures and physical workload increased with length of SA, especially when the participant also had CMD. The strongest associations for the combined exposures were observed for SA ⩾15 days, the rate ratios being 2.63 (95% CI 2.27–3.05) among those with hazardous exposure and CMD, and 3.37 (95% CI 2.93−3.88) among those with heavy physical workload and CMD. Conclusions: Employees with hazardous exposures or physical workload combined with CMD were at the highest risk of SA compared with those without these exposures or with only one exposure.

Mental Health Before and After Retirement-Assessing the Relevance of Psychosocial Working Conditions: The Whitehall II Prospective Study of British Civil Servants

OBJECTIVES

Retirement could be a stressor or a relief. We stratify according to previous psychosocial working conditions to identify short-term and long-term changes in mental health.

METHOD

Using data from the Whitehall II study on British civil servants who retired during follow-up (n = 4,751), we observe mental health (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ] score) on average 8.2 times per participant, spanning up 37 years. We differentiate short-term (0-3 years) and long-term (4+ years) changes in mental health according to retirement and investigate whether trajectories differ by psychosocial job demands, work social support, decision authority, and skill discretion.

RESULTS

Each year, mental health slightly improved before retirement (-0.070; 95% CI [-0.080, -0.059]; higher values on the GHQ score are indicative of worse mental health), and retirees experienced a steep short-term improvement in mental health after retirement (-0.253; 95% CI [-0.302, -0.205]), but no further significant long-term changes (0.017; 95% CI [-0.001, 0.035]). Changes in mental health were more explicit when retiring from poorer working conditions; this is higher psychosocial job demands, lower decision authority, or lower work social support.

DISCUSSION

Retirement was generally beneficial for health. The association between retirement and mental health was dependent on the context individuals retire from.

Physical working conditions and subsequent disability retirement due to any cause, mental disorders and musculoskeletal diseases: does the risk vary by common mental disorders?

PURPOSE

Physical work exposures and common mental disorders (CMD) have been linked to increased risk of work disability, but their joint associations with disability retirement due to any cause, mental disorders or musculoskeletal diseases have not been examined.

METHODS

The data for exposures and covariates were from the Finnish Helsinki Health Study occupational cohort surveys in 2000-2002, 2007 and 2012. We used 12,458 observations from 6159 employees, who were 40-60 years old at baseline. CMD were measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12, cut-off point 3+). Four self-reported work exposures (hazardous exposures, physical workload, computer and shift work) were combined with CMD and categorized as "neither", "work exposure only", "CMD only", and "both". Associations with register-based disability retirement were assessed with Cox proportional hazards models for sample survey data adjusting for confounders over 5-year follow-up. Additionally, synergy indices were calculated for the combined effects.

RESULTS

Those reporting CMD and high physical workload had a greater risk of disability retirement due to any cause (HR 4.26, 95% CI 3.60-5.03), mental disorders (HR 5.41, 95% CI 3.87-7.56), and musculoskeletal diseases (HR 4.46, 95% CI 3.49-5.71) when compared to those with neither. Synergy indices indicated that these associations were synergistic. Similar associations were observed for CMD and hazardous exposures, but not for combined exposures to CMD and computer or shift work.

CONCLUSIONS

Identification of mental health problems among employees in physically demanding jobs is important to support work ability and reduce the risk of premature exit from work due to disability.

Retirement planning: the perceptions of pre-retirement nurses within different hospitals in China

AIM

This study explored the perceptions of senior Chinese nurses working in different hospital types, about retirement planning; and compared the results from two hospitals.

BACKGROUND

A recent review indicates that nurses with inadequate retirement planning could be faced with a retirement crisis. In China, hospitals are classified into different levels, and salaries, job satisfaction and the turnover of nurses varies among these levels. These factors may also influence nurses' perceptions of retirement planning.

METHODS

In a descriptive, qualitative design, 27 semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nurses who were between 50 and 60 years old and recruited from two hospitals in China from April to September 2018. The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically.

FINDINGS

Four main themes emerged from the interviews, namely, the understanding of pre-retirement nurses of retirement planning, the attitudes of pre-retirement nurses towards retirement planning, factors influencing nurses' retirement planning and the retirement planning activity of nurses. Most nurses participating in this study did not know much about retirement planning, but they all agreed on its importance. We identified the influencing factors of retirement planning and several differences regarding the perceptions of nurses about retirement planning in different hospitals.

CONCLUSION

In this cohort of nurses, planning for a good retirement was thought to be important; however, their readiness for retirement and the influences around planning for retirement were varied in type and scope.

IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY

Governments and employing hospitals should develop reasonable measures and policies to support nurses in their understanding of the benefits of retirement planning and help them to prepare for retirement. Information about retirement planning should be made available and options for planning explained. Any systematic hurdles to retirement planning should be mitigated or eliminated.

Building a Sustainable Construction Workforce

The average U.S. construction worker is aged 42.6 years, and will not be eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits until age 67. Delayed retirement is largely driven by economic need, but construction workers face considerable challenges in remaining on the job. This study explores trade-specific age trends within the construction industry, and the experiences of building trade unions with aging membership. A mixed-methods approach used trade-specific age statistics from the Current Population Survey and key informant interviews with labor leaders, in order to identify union experiences and interventions. Mean and median ages for all subgroups in construction increased from 2003 to 2017. Immigrant construction workers were significantly younger than workers who were born in the U.S. (41 vs. 43, p < 0.001). Union workers were older than non-union workers (42 vs. 39 in 2017, p < 0.001); the age differential between self-employed and wage-and-salary workers was wide (49 vs. 40, p < 0.001). Union leaders described barriers, such as age discrimination and the loss of previously available light tasks, as well as current and potential solutions through union contract language requiring the inclusion of older workers, or establishing limits for lifting. Other solutions included career pathways for training and safety, with their attendant limitations; mentoring/pairing opportunities with apprentices; and the potential opportunities and training needs for site management positions.

Continued social participation protects against depressive symptoms across the retirement transition: Longitudinal evidence from three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey

AIM

Social participation is an important social resource over retirement, but little is known about how changing social participation might affect mental health over retirement. This study examined the impact of retirement status, changes in social participation and their interactions on subsequent depressive symptoms over a 4-year period.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the first three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey. The analytical sample included 2364 individuals with different retirement statuses (remained retired, transitioned to retirement, remained working). Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the impact of retirement status, changes in social participation and their interactions on depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Compared with those who remained working, individuals who remained retired reported reduced depressive symptoms (β = -0.64, 95% CI -1.23 to -0.05); individuals who transitioned to retirement reported elevated depressive symptoms (β = 0.74, 95% CI 0.07 to 1.41). Relative to those who reported no participation over the study, individuals who maintained or increased social participation reported reduced depressive symptoms (β = -1.12, 95% CI -1.67 to -0.56; β = -1.03, 95% CI -1.90 to -0.17); individuals who decreased social participation reported elevated depressive symptoms (β = 0.70, 95% CI 0.13-1.28). Individuals with decreased social participation were more influenced by the negative impact of transition to retirement on depressive symptoms (β = 1.93, 95% CI 0.12-3.74).

CONCLUSION

These results highlighted the time-varying effects of retirement on mental health, and continued social participation acting as an adaptive strategy to protect against depressive symptoms over time. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 972-976.