@article {9992, title = {Marriage and physical capability at mid to later life in England and the USA.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {14}, year = {2019}, pages = {e0209388}, abstract = {Background Married people have lower rates of mortality and report better physical and mental health at older ages, compared to their unmarried counterparts. However, there is limited evidence on the association between marriage and physical capability, the ability to carry out the tasks of daily living, which is predictive of future mortality and social care use. We investigate the association between marital status and physical capability at mid to later life in England and the United States. Methods We examine the association between marriage and physical capability at mid to later life in England and the USA using two performance-based measures of physical capability: grip strength and walking speed. Multiple linear regression was carried out on Wave 4 (2008) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and Waves 8 and 9 (2006 and 2008) of the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Results In age adjusted models married men and women had better physical capability than their unmarried counterparts. Much of the marriage advantage was explained by the greater wealth of married people. However, remarried men were found to have stronger grip strength and widowed and never married men had a slower walking speed than men in their first marriage, which was not explained by wealth, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, health behaviours, chronic disease or depressive symptoms. There were no differences in the association between England and the USA. Conclusions Marriage may be an important factor in maintaining physical capability in both England and the USA, particularly because of the greater wealth which married people have accrued by the time they reach older ages. The grip strength advantage for remarried men may be due to unobserved selective factors into remarriage.}, keywords = {Disabilities, Gait speed, Grip strength, Marriage}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0209388}, author = {Wood, Natasha and McMunn, Anne and Webb, Elizabeth and Stafford, Mai} } @article {9441, title = {Later-life employment trajectories and health}, journal = {Advances in Life Course Research}, volume = {34}, year = {2017}, pages = {22-33}, abstract = {Background: Despite the recent policy push to keep older adults in the labour force, we know almost nothing about the potential health consequences of working longer. Drawing on a life course approach that considers stability and change in employment patterns, this study examines the relationship between long-term labour market involvement in later life and self-rated health. Methods: Our data are from the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2012) for the cohort born 1931-1941 (N = 6522). We used optimal matching analysis to map employment trajectories from ages 52-69, and then logistic regression to examine associations between these trajectories and self-rated health in the early 70s, net of socio-demographics, household resources and prior health. Findings: Women prevail in groups characterized by a weak(er) attachment to the labour market and men, in groups signifying a strong(er) attachment. Men who downshifted from full-time to part-time work around age 65 were the least likely to report poor health in their early 70s.Women had the best health if they remained employed, either full-time or part-time. However, unlike men, they appeared to benefit most in health terms when part-time hours were part of a longer-term pattern. Conclusion: While our study findings show that continuing to work in later life may be positively associated with health, they also suggest the need for flexible employment policies that foster opportunities to work part-time.}, keywords = {Employment and Labor Force, Health Conditions and Status, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction}, issn = {10402608}, doi = {10.1016/j.alcr.2017.09.002}, author = {McDonough, Peggy and Worts, Diana and Corna, Laurie M. and McMunn, Anne and Sacker, Amanda} }