Postponing Retirement Might Help Keep Dementia at Bay
TUESDAY, Sept. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Early retirement may sound appealing, but a recent study hints that putting it off a few years might help older adults retain more of their mental sharpness.
Using data on more than 20,000 older Americans, researchers estimated that if all of those people waited until age 67 to retire, their collective cognitive health would benefit.
"Cognition" refers to a person's ability to think, reason, plan and remember, among other vital brain functions. Research suggests that various factors over a lifetime — from education level to exercise habits to heart health — can affect a person's rate of cognitive decline, and risk of dementia, later in life.
For the new study, researchers wanted to estimate the possible impact of later retirement on people's cognitive functioning.
In theory, spending more years on the job would be protective — in a "use it or lose it" kind of way, explained lead researcher Jo Mhairi Hale of the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland.
"Those who keep working are 'forced,' let's say, to stay cognitively engaged, while those who retire may choose to be involved in cognitively engaging activities, but not necessarily," Hale said.
Her team started with data on more than 20,000 Americans aged 55 to 75 who took part in a long-running health survey called the Health and Retirement Study. It included standard questions that gauge memory and other brain functions.
Many respondents were still working, at least part-time, while about 45% were retired.
The researchers used statistical methods to estimate what would happen if all study participants were "forced" to delay retirement until at least age 67.
In real life, there is a whole host of factors that could sway both a person's cognitive health and retirement age. And some people might retire earlier because their mental acuity is declining.
Hale said the Health and Retirement Study examined a "plethora of life-course factors," so that allowed her team to account for some of that complexity.
The investigators weighed factors like people's education levels; childhood family income and current wealth; health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease; depression symptoms; and whether their longest-held job was professional or "non-professional" (such as manual labor).
In the end, the researchers calculated that delaying retirement until age 67 or older would help people retain some mental sharpness. On average, the group lost about 1 point on their cognitive scores between the ages of 61 and 67; delaying retirement, the researchers estimated, could reduce that by one-third.
The team also found that the benefit could persist for at least five years beyond retirement.
That was not because the extra work years offered bonus brain power. It was because earlier retirement was linked to a faster cognitive decline, the researchers said.
So should older adults keep punching the clock in order to protect their brain health?
The study does not answer that question, according to Claire Sexton, director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer's Association.
"It's definitely a tricky thing to examine the effect of just one event, like retirement age," said Sexton, who was not involved in the study.
For one, she noted, many factors affect people's retirement decisions — including whether they enjoy their work and find it stimulating, and whether their job is stressful or physically taxing.
Similarly, Sexton said, a range of factors sway dementia risk, from genes to health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease to obesity and lack of exercise.
That caveat made, Sexton agreed that staying on the job might be beneficial — if it provides people with mental stimulation and social interaction. A body of research suggests those things may help protect the aging brain.
Of course, jobs are not the only way to stay mentally and socially engaged.
Retirement could be used as a "springboard," Sexton said, freeing up time to take a class, start a new exercise routine, or join a club or volunteer group.
Hale agreed that retirees "would be well-served to regularly participate in cognitively engaging activities."
A next research step, she said, "would be to explore the extent to which alternative activities that promote cognitive engagement — such as grandparenting or volunteering — are protective against cognitive decline."
The findings were recently published online in the journal SSM Population Health.
Here’s the latest reason why you need to work forever
If you were planning an early retirement you may want to think again. According to new research, delaying retirement can actually slow the rate of cognitive decline among older populations.
Why working longer can help your brain
Ladders recently covered a study that established a link between the kind of career one has (how stimulating) and their risk for developing cognitive decline later in life.
Now, researchers in the SSM – Population Health journal have found that the longer you stay, the better chance you have of fending off dementia.
This was found to be especially true of participants who were college-educated, though all subgroups involved in the study benefited from postponing retirement.
“We approach retirement and cognitive function from the perspective that they both come near the end of a long path of life,” explains study co-author Angelo Lorenti in a media release.
What age constitutes “late” retirement?
The information comes from researchers at The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science in Germany with help from data provided by the U.S. Health and Retirement Study.
All of the Americans involved were between the ages of 55 and 75 and all of them had worked in the labor market at some point between 1996 and 2014.
The authors began to identify cognitive benefits for older Americans who continued to work up until the age of 67.
The earliest a person can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits is age 62, though these benefits are for retirees younger than 65.
Participants from the new study who worked up until the age of 65 not only delayed markers relevant to the diagnoses of dementia-related illness like Alzheimer’s disease.
Irrespective of gender ethnic background, work history had a major influence on cognitive functioning.
“It begins with one’s social origins in ethnicity, gender, and early-life social and economic status goes on with educational and occupational attainment and health behaviors, and goes all the way up to more proximate factors such as partnership status and mental and physical health. All these kinds of factors accumulate and interact over a lifetime to affect both cognitive function and age at retirement.”
These findings also go a long way to repudiate myths about older populations in the workforce. Namely, that inevitable cognitive decline that affects these populations makes them impractical candidates.
How work improves cognition
The reasoning for the findings above are varied.
Sedentary lifestyles, which a postponed retirement would help reduce the likelihood of, are a contributing element of cognitive decline.
In a recent study, individuals who were exposed to prolonged sedentary behavior had a 30% higher risk of experiencing dementia compared to those who did not. The same report also linked sedentary behavior with less severe manifestations of cognitive impairment.
Working additionally provides our brains with the stimulation necessary to keep it sharp.
In a paper published in the British medical journal BMJ, researchers found that people with mentally stimulating jobs have a much lower risk of developing cognitive illness later in life than those who do not.
Mentally stimulating jobs are defined as ones that require workers to make decisions and exercise control, as opposed to taking orders.
The authors found that the probability of developing dementia for workers occupying mentally stimulating jobs was 4.8 in 10,000, compared to 7.3 per 10,000 for the low-mental-stimulation group. These results were consistent even after the authors adjusted for factors like age, sex, education, and lifestyle.
The social interactions that work provide have been linked with similar benefits to cognition. “Accumulating evidence suggests that both humans and mice have a higher risk of developing AD if they are lonely or living isolated,” the National Institutes of Health reports.
24 ways your office job is destroying your health
The stress, long hours, and sedentary nature of your modern office job are sucking the life out of you — literally.
And it's not just the tight deadlines, stress-eaten doughnuts, and sneezing coworkers that are doing you in. Even your keyboard can be out to get you.
From the printer to your supervisor, the dangers presented in a typical office can have real effects on your physical well-being and mental health. Need a reason to overhaul your habits? Look no further.
Using a treadmill desk increases your chances of physically hurting yourself
Although a treadmill desk may help with the risk of obesity and heart disease, workers at these desks are also prone to increased typos and the desks might cause you to fall more often than merely sitting in a chair.
Regularly eating fast food for lunch will increase your risk of heart disease
Most office-folk go out for an unhealthy lunch once in a while — some more than others — but even the occasional indulgence has negative effects.
A portion of fast food usually has about double the calories to another similar food of the same size, and it has a lot of oxidized fat, which increases the risk of heart disease.
Long commutes can lead to poor sleep, higher cholesterol, and an increased risk of depression
Commuting more than 10 miles by car can lead to higher blood sugar and increased cholesterol, according to a study from the University School of Medicine in Saint Louis and the Cooper Institute in Dallas. It can also increase your risk of depression, anxiety, and general misery.
But public transit is no picnic, either. One UK study found that people who commute 30 minutes by bus have the lowest levels of life satisfaction, and even cyclists weren't immune to the ill effects of long-distance travel.
Motivational meetings can depress people
In order to get workers excited about the company's mission, employers may host team-building exercises or motivational meetings.
But research has shown that forcing people to feel positive for something they're unsure about can actually "highlight how unhappy they are" and, ultimately, will make them even more depressed.
Recirculated, toxic air clogs your lungs
The EPA calls it "Sick Building Syndrome." The air inside a building can be up to 100 times dirtier than outside, and you're exposed to a variety of unhealthy gases and chemicals.
There are pollutants in the air conditioning, as well as toxic particles, dangerous bacteria, and mold all flying around, especially in buildings that aren't well taken care of.
Working for a bad boss can contribute to anxiety, unhealthy habits, and even heart disease
One Swedish study cited by The Washington Post found the chronic stress of a bad boss was linked to an elevated risk of heart disease — and the longer you work for that person, the worse the problem seems to become.
That's just the beginning. Other studies have shown that working for an unfair boss may contribute to a host of other complaints, including depression, sleep issues, high blood pressure, and being overweight.
Not getting enough sunlight can make it harder to fall asleep and more difficult to concentrate when you're awake
Artificial light doesn't just give your skin an unflattering greenish cast — it also messes with your internal clock, making you sleepy and sedentary.
A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that employees who weren't exposed to natural light at work slept an average of 46 minutes less a night than their peers with windows — and the sleep they did get was less restful.
Extreme boredom may make your more likely to die from heart disease or stroke
It's not just hyperbole — you can actually be bored to death.
A study from University College London suggested that those who complain of boredom are more likely to die young, and those who report high levels of tedium are much more likely to die from heart disease or stroke. It also puts you at higher risk for workplace accidents.
Dirty keyboards are as dangerous as E. coli and coliforms
Keyboards can be a breeding ground for bacteria if not kept clean.
Microbiologists found that keyboards can even have up to five times as many bacteria as a bathroom, and can include dangerous ones like E. coli and coliforms — both commonly associated with food poisoning — along with staphylococcus, which causes a range of infections.
Typing too much leads to carpal tunnel syndrome
An excessive amount of typing is a well-known cause of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), which is a painful wrist strain that can go up your arm. CTS can get bad enough to cause permanent nerve damage and muscle-wasting.
Open-office plans may be trendy, but they're also drastically more likely to make you sick
Nearly 70% of offices have ditched cubes for open plans, but while that may (may) increase some kinds of communication and collaboration, it's also making us sick.
A Danish study found that as the number of people working in a room increased, so did the relative number of sick days — and people who worked in fully open offices were out 62% more than their cubed counterparts.
Keeping your mouse in the same spot makes you prone to repetitive strain injury
If your mouse stays in the same spot all day, you can be prone to repetitive strain injury (RSI).
Upper-limb RSI occurs when your tendons are straining more than they should for long periods of time, which can be because of movement repetition, a sustained awkward position, or prolonged pressing against hard surfaces.
Smartphone overuse may eventually weaken your hands and wrists
People who use their smartphones heavily to text and email are prone to muscle fatigue and iPhone thumb, which is a type of RSI.
The effects can get so bad that the pain can reach all the way up to your wrist and can be utterly debilitating to your hands.
Uncomfortable shoes may eventually lead to spinal injuries, muscle spasms, and chronic headaches
Those power-woman pumps you're wearing might make you feel tall and confident, but they're also harming your body in surprising ways.
Between 2005 and 2009, women's visits to doctors for their feet increased by 75%, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS).
Wearing uncomfortable shoes can lead to spinal injuries, muscle spasms, and even chronic headaches and migraines. Furthermore, the more pain you feel, the more likely you'll sit for longer periods, which leads to a slew of health problems on its own.