Abstract
Background and AimsLife transitions such as retirement may influence alcohol consumption, but only a few studies have described this using longitudinal data. We identified patterns and predictors of risky drinking around the time of retirement.DesignA cohort study assessing trajectories and predictors of risky drinking among employees entering statutory retirement between 2000 and 2011.Setting and ParticipantsA total of 5805 men and women from the Finnish Public Sector study who responded to questions on alcohol consumption one to three times prior to (w−3, w−2, w−1), and one to three times after (w+1, w+2, w+3) retirement.MeasurementsWe assessed trajectories of risky drinking (> 24 units per week among men, > 16 units among women, or an extreme drinking occasion during past year) from pre‐ to post‐retirement, as well as predictors of each alcohol consumption trajectory.FindingsThree trajectories were identified: sustained healthy drinking (81% of participants), temporary increase in risky drinking around retirement (12%) and slowly declining risky drinking after retirement (7%). The strongest pre‐retirement predictors for belonging to the group of temporary increase in risky drinking were current smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 3.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.70–5.64], male sex (OR = 2.77, 95% CI = 2.16–3.55), depression (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.05–1.99) and work‐place in the metropolitan area (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.00–1.66). Compared with the slowly declining risky drinking group, the temporary increase in risky drinking group was characterized by lower occupational status and education, and work‐place outside the metropolitan area.ConclusionsIn Finland, approximately 12% of people who reach retirement age experience a temporary increase in alcohol consumption to risky levels, while approximately 7% experience a slow decline in risky levels of alcohol consumption. Male gender, smoking, being depressed and working in a metropolitan area are associated with increased likelihood of increased alcohol consumption.
Highlights
Risky alcohol use is among the most significant contributors to the burden of disease world-wide [1]
There was a sharp increase in this prevalence from 27 to 43%, which turned into a decrease with advancing age
Both the positive and negative aspects related to changes in leisure time, stress and social networks around retirement may affect drinking behaviours our findings suggest that, for those increasing their consumption, these changes are relatively short-term with people returning to the pre-retirement risky drinking habits within 4–8 years
Summary
Risky alcohol use is among the most significant contributors to the burden of disease world-wide [1]. A study of Australian employees found no changes in alcohol consumption in any retirement group [7], and findings in a Norwegian study were mixed [8]. Both increasing and decreasing alcohol use trajectories have been reported in a cohort of elderly men and women in the United States [9,10]. Given this heterogeneity in findings, it is possible that there are multiple subgroups with different trajectories of alcohol. Compared with the slowly declining risky drinking group, the temporary increase in risky drinking group was characterized by lower occupational status and education, and work-place outside the metropolitan area
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