Thursday, October 29, 2009
Working past retirement good for your health: study
Completely retiring from the workforce in your senior years can have negative health consequences, suggests a new study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
A representative sample of more than 12,000 retirees from the National Institute on Aging's Health and Retirement Study were included in the study (.pdf file). Researchers evaluated each participant's health history and asked him or her to complete a survey gauging their mental health. The researchers studied the connection between employment and the prevalence of major disease, functional limitations and mental health, and found that so-called "bridge employment" in any field reduced diseases and functional limitations; employment in the retiree's specified field also was associated with improved mental health.