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. 2022 Apr 4;22(1):279.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03001-x.

Retirement as a predictor of physical functioning trajectories among older businessmen

Markus J Haapanen  1   2   3 , Timo E Strandberg  4   5 , Timo Törmäkangas  6 , Monika E von Bonsdorff  7 , Arto Y Strandberg  4 , Mikaela B von Bonsdorff  8   6
Affiliations

Retirement as a predictor of physical functioning trajectories among older businessmen

Markus J Haapanen et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Associations between retirement characteristics and consequent physical functioning (PF) are poorly understood, particularly in higher socioeconomic groups, where postponing retirement has had both positive and negative implications for PF.

Methods: Multiple assessments of PF, the first of which at the mean age of 73.3 years, were performed on 1709 men who were retired business executives and managers, using the RAND-36/SF-36 instrument, between 2000 and 2010. Questionnaire data on retirement age and type of pension was gathered in 2000. Five distinct PF trajectories were created using latent growth mixture modelling. Mortality- and covariate-adjusted multinomial regression models were used to estimate multinomial Odds Ratios (mOR) on the association between retirement characteristics and PF trajectories.

Results: A one-year increase in retirement age was associated with decreased likelihood of being classified in the 'consistently low' (fully adjusted mOR = 0.82; 95%CI = 0.70, 0.97; P = 0.007), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.83, 0.96; P = 0.002), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.87, 0.98; P = 0.006) trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Compared to old age pensioners, disability pensioners were more likely to be classified in the 'consistently low' (mOR = 23.77; 95% CI 2.13, 265.04; P = 0.010), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 8.24; 95%CI = 2.58, 26.35; P < 0.001), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 2.71; 95%CI = 1.17, 6.28; P = 0.020) PF trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory.

Conclusions: Among executives and managers, older age at retirement was associated with better trajectories of PF in old age. Compared to old age pensioners, those transitioning into disability and early old age pensions were at risk of having consistently lower PF in old age.

Keywords: Age at retirement; Physical functioning; Type of pension.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Identified physical functioning trajectories over the 10-year follow-up from 2000 to 2010. Reproduced with permission from [15]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of physical functioning trajectories according to categories of retirement age
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of physical functioning trajectories according to categories of pension benefit
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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