Depressive symptoms and early retirement intentions among Danish eldercare workers: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

Mette Andersen Nexo,Reiner Rugulies,Isabella Gomes Carneiro,Pernille U Hjarsbech,Camilla Sandal Sejbaek,Vilhelm Borg

doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1973-1

Abstract

BackgroundDepression increases the risk of disability pension and represents a health related strain that pushes people out of the labour market. Although early voluntary retirement is an important alternative to disability pension, few studies have examined whether depressive symptoms incur early voluntary retirement. This study examined whether depressive symptoms and changes in depressive symptoms over time were associated with early retirement intentions.MethodsWe used a cross-sectional (n = 4041) and a prospective (n = 2444) population from a longitudinal study on employees of the Danish eldercare sector. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Major Depression Inventory and the impact of different levels of depressive symptoms (severe, moderately severe, moderate, mild and none) and changes in depressive symptoms (worsened, improved, unaffected) on early retirement intentions were analysed with multinomial logistic regression.ResultsIn the cross-sectional analysis all levels of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with retirement intentions before the age of 62 years. Similar associations were found prospectively. Depressive symptoms and worsened depressive symptoms in the two year period from baseline to follow-up were also significantly associated with early retirement intentions before age 62. The prospective associations lost statistical significance when controlling for early retirement intentions at baseline.ConclusionsThe whole spectrum of depressive symptoms represents a health related strain that can incur intentions to retire early by early voluntary retirement. In order to change the intentions to retire early, the work related consequences of depressive symptoms should be addressed as early in the treatment process as possible.

Highlights

Depression increases the risk of disability pension and represents a health related strain that pushes people out of the labour market
This study examined the association between depressive symptoms and early retirement intentions in four research questions: 1) Is the severity of depressive symptoms associated with immediate early retirement intentions?
Using multinomial logistic regression for the cross-sectional and prospective analyses, we examined the association of depressive symptoms with the probability of very early and early retirement intentions

Summary

Introduction

Depression increases the risk of disability pension and represents a health related strain that pushes people out of the labour market. Early voluntary retirement is an important alternative to disability pension, few studies have examined whether depressive symptoms incur early voluntary retirement. It is more common to retire early by other forms of retirement schemes than disability pension, it is poorly understood how depressive symptoms affect early voluntary retirement (EVR) plans. Most Western countries have gradually raised the official retirement age and the age at which publicly financed EVR is available [15]. Despite such restrictions, EVR remains the most common way of retiring early in Denmark [16,17,18]

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