Depression and retirement in late middle-aged U.S. workers.

TitleDepression and retirement in late middle-aged U.S. workers.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsDoshi, JA, Cen, L, Polsky, D
JournalHealth Serv Res
Volume43
Issue2
Pagination693-713
Date Published2008 Apr
ISSN Number0017-9124
Call Numbernewpubs20080528_HlthServRes
KeywordsActivities of Daily Living, Comorbidity, depression, Employment, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Retirement, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic factors, United States
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether late middle-aged U.S. workers with depression are at an increased risk for retirement.

DATA SOURCE: Six biennial waves (1992-2002) of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative panel survey of noninstitutionalized 51-61-year-olds and their spouses started in 1992.

STUDY DESIGN: Workers aged 53-58 years in 1994 were followed every 2 years thereafter, through 2002. Depression was coded as lagged time-dependent variables measuring active depression and severity of depression. The main outcome variable was a transition to retirement which was measured using two distinct definitions to capture different stages in the retirement process: (1) Retirement was defined as a transition out of the labor force in the sample of all labor force participants (N=2,853); (2) In addition a transition out of full time work was used as the retirement definition in the subset of labor force participants who were full time workers (N=2,288).

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the sample of all labor force participants, the presence of active depression significantly increased the hazard of retirement in both late middle-aged men (adjusted OR: 1.37 [95 percent CI 1.05, 1.80]) and women (adjusted OR: 1.40 [95 percent CI 1.10, 1.78]). For women, subthreshold depression was also a significant predictor of retirement. In the sample of full time workers, the relationship between depression and retirement was considerably weaker for women yet remained strong for men.

CONCLUSIONS: Depression and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with retirement in late middle-aged U.S. workers. Policymakers must consider the potentially adverse impact of these labor market outcomes when estimating the cost of untreated depression and evaluating the value of interventions to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression.

DOI10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00782.x
User Guide Notes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18370974?dopt=Abstract

Endnote Keywords

Depression/Mental health/RETIREMENT/risk factors/Public health/Labor Market

Endnote ID

18960

Alternate JournalHealth Serv Res
Citation Key7225
PubMed ID18370974
PubMed Central IDPMC2442377
Grant ListR01 AG024451 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG024451-01 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States