Late-Life Working Participation and Mental Health Risk of Retirement-Aged Workers: How Much Impact Will There Be From Social Security System?

The association between continuing work after retirement and the incidence of frailty: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES

Retirement represents a significant life transition, with post-retirement status serving as a pivotal aspect of aging research. Despite its potential significance, little research has delved into the relationship between continuing work after retirement and the frailty. This study aims to investigate the association between continuing work after retirement and the incidence of frailty among older individuals.

DESIGN

A nationally representative cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We utilized data from 4 waves (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and a total of 5,960 participants were included in the study after applying specific inclusion and exclusion criteria.

METHODS

Frailty was assessed using a Frailty Index. To balance baseline covariates between workers (n = 3,170) and non-workers (n = 2,790), we employed inverse propensity of treatment weighting. The relationship between work status and the incidence of frailty was examined using Cox proportional hazards analysis, with results reported as hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

A total of 5,960 participants (mean age 64 years; 42.1% male) were included in the analysis. Over a mean follow-up of 6.9 years, 2,105 cases of frailty were identified. In the cohort analysis, following adjustment using the inverse propensity of treatment weighting (IPTW), continuing work after retirement showed a negative association with frailty incidence, with an HR of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.65-0.79). Subgroup analysis revealed a more significant protective effect of continuing work beyond retirement age among individuals aged 65 or older, males, smokers, and those with limited social activities.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, this study identified a significant association between continuing work after retirement and a decreased risk of frailty. The findings underscore the potential benefits of policies promoting social engagement and extending working life in enhancing the quality of life for the aging population.

The associations of daytime napping and motoric cognitive risk syndrome: Findings from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

INTRODUCTION

Motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), characterized by subjective cognitive complaints and slow gait in older populations, is associated with sleep duration. However, the association between MCR and daytime nap duration has not been thoroughly explored.

METHODS

Baseline data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were used in this study. MCR was defined as the coexistence of subjective cognitive complaints and objective slow gait speed without a history of dementia or mobility disability. Daytime nap duration was categorized into four groups: no napping, short napping (<30 min), moderate napping (30-89 min) and extended napping (≥90 min). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to explore the association of daytime napping duration and MCR.

RESULTS

A total of 4230 individuals aged ≥60 were included in the current analysis, of which 463 were diagnosed with MCR. Moderate napping of 30-89 min per day was found to be significantly associated with lower odds of MCR compared with the reference group of no napping. In subgroup analysis, individuals with sleep durations of <7 h per night had lower odds of MCR in the model that adjusted for all potential confounders with ≥30 min daytime nap duration compared with no napping. Interestingly, for people with a night sleep duration of 7-8 h, only those with a moderate nap of 30-89 min had lower odds of MCR than non-nappers after adjustment for potential confounders.

CONCLUSION

A moderate nap of 30-89 min could lower the odds of MCR, especially for older adults with a night sleep duration of ≤8 h.

How the interplay of late retirement, health care, economic insecurity, and electronic social contact affects the mental health amongst older workers?

The delayed retirement initiative has become increasingly emphasised to cope with the population ageing. Based on the social-ecological model, this study explores the interplay of late retirement, health care, economic insecurity, and electronic social contact on mental health of older workers. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (wave 8), results show that the late retirement, health care quality, and electronic social contact are all negatively associated with the mental health problems among older workers. Besides, the influence of health care quality and electronic social contact on mental health problems are buffered by the economic insecurity respectively. It is concluded that more targeted policy response is in need to achieve better health outcomes among older workers.

Chronic patients as retirement-aged workers: the impact of employment-based health insurance and chronic conditions on health-related working capacity and late-life career participation

Retirement-aged workers with chronic conditions are increasingly engaged in late-life careers in the policy context of delayed retirement initiative. However, it remains uncertain as to how chronic conditions and employment-based social health insurance interact to affect health-related working capacity and late career participation in this group of people. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the discrete choice model, this study finds that chronic conditions are negatively associated with health-related working capacity (- 0.400, p < 0.01) and late-life career participation (- 0.170, p < 0.01). Employment-based health insurance is positively associated with health-related working capacity of retirement-aged workers (0.432, p < 0.01), but is negatively associated with their late-life career participation (- 1.027, p < 0.01). Moreover, employment-based health insurance could weaken the negative associations between chronic conditions and health-related working capacity (interaction = 0.285, p < 0.05) and late-life career participation (interaction = 0.251, p < 0.05). More fine-grained policies for delayed retirement are needed to focus on the long-neglected health of retirement-aged workers with chronic conditions.