Health trajectories across the work exit transition in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s: The role of working conditions and policy

Maaike van der Noordt, Theo G. van Tilburg, S. van der Pas, Bram Wouterse, Dorly J.H. Deeg

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: We examined health trajectories of Dutch older workers across their exit from the workforce in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, testing the hypothesis that pre-post-exit health trajectories of workers with favourable and unfavourable working conditions increasingly diverged over time due to policy measures to extend working life. Methods: The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam includes baseline samples in 1992/1993, 2002/2003 and 2012/2013 with two 3-year follow-up waves each. Selected respondents were aged 55 years and over who exited from a paid job within the first or second 3-year interval, up to and including the statutory retirement age (N=522). Pre-post-exit trajectories were modelled using Generalized Estimating Equations with outcomes self-rated health and physical limitations and determinants physical demands, psychosocial demands, and psychosocial resources. Results: Average work exit age rose from 60.7 in the 1990s to 62.9 in the 2010s. On average, self-rated health decreased somewhat over successive periods and did not show pre-post-exit change; average physical limitations increased substantially both over successive periods and from pre- to post-exit. No support is found for our hypothesis. However, regardless of work exposures, we found sharp pre-post-exit increases in physical limitations in the 2010s. Conclusion: Although these findings provide no support for our hypothesis of diverging health trajectories over time based on work exposure, they show that exiting at a higher age is linked to poorer pre- and post-exit health and to pre-post-exit increases in physical limitations, suggesting greater health care costs in the near future.
Original languageEnglish
Article number16
Pages (from-to)1-15
Number of pages15
JournalArchives of Public Health
Volume81
Early online date6 Feb 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Funding

Financial support from the Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement under grant LMVP2014.01 is gratefully acknowledged. The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam is supported by a grant from the Netherlands Ministry of Health Welfare and Sports, Directorate of Long-Term Care. The data collection in 2012–2013 was financially supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) in the framework of the project “New cohorts of young old in the twenty-first century” (file number 480–10-014).

FundersFunder number
Netherlands Ministry of Health Welfare and Sports, Directorate of Long-Term Care
Network for Studies on PensionsLMVP2014.01
Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek480–10-014

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