Abstract
BackgroundGiven the acceleration of population ageing and policy changes to extend working lives, evidence is needed on the ability of older adults to work for longer. To understand more about the health impacts of work, this study examined the relationship between employment histories before retirement and trajectories of frailty thereafter.MethodsThe sample comprised 2765 women and 1621 men from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We used gendered typologies of life-time employment and a frailty index (FI). Multilevel growth curve models were used to predict frailty trajectories by employment histories.ResultsWomen who had a short break for family care, then did part-time work till 59 years had a lower FI after 60 years than those who undertook full-time work until 59 years. Women who were largely family carers or non-employed throughout adulthood, had higher levels of frailty at 60 years but experienced a slower decline with age. Men who worked full-time but early exited at either 49 or 60 years had a higher FI at 65 years than those who worked full-time up to 65 years. Interaction between employment histories and age indicated that men in full-time work who experienced an early exit at 49 tended to report slower declines.ConclusionsFor women, experiencing distinct periods throughout the lifecourse of either work or family care may be advantageous for lessening frailty risk in later life. For men, leaving paid employment before 65 years seems to be beneficial for decelerating increases in frailty thereafter. Continuous full-time work until retirement age conferred no long-term health benefits.
Highlights
In 2010, 10 million people in the UK were 65 years and older and the number is estimated to nearly double to around 19 million by 2050.1 A range of recent employment policy initiatives are aimed at supporting older people to work for longer, potentially benefiting the national economy and improving individual savings for retirement.[2]
Men who had been working full-time throughout (FTT) were more likely to be older, while those who experienced an early exit from paid work (FTE49) were younger on average
Women who had a SCB had significantly lower frailty index (FI) at 60 years than those working FTT in both the minimally and fully adjusted models (b −0.019, 95% CI −0.032 to −0.006)
Summary
In 2010, 10 million people in the UK were 65 years and older and the number is estimated to nearly double to around 19 million by 2050.1 A range of recent employment policy initiatives are aimed at supporting older people to work for longer, potentially benefiting the national economy and improving individual savings for retirement.[2]. Given policy changes that expect people to work for longer it is critical to investigate whether people’s lifetime exposure to work affects later life health. Adverse physical and psychosocial working conditions contribute to physiological changes in the body leading to an increased risk of observable pathology.[3] Lifetime exposure to work, summarised in employment history profiles, can help us understand more about the relationship between work and health declines in later life. Frailty is commonly considered to be a clinical syndrome among older adults associated with numerous poor health outcomes including morbidity, incident disability, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and death,[4,5,6,7] and may be a better measure than just one indicator. To understand more about the health impacts of work, this study examined the relationship between employment histories before retirement and trajectories of frailty thereafter
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