Millennials is the largest population in the United States. Compared with their parents and grandparents, they have to shoulder more responsibilities to prepare financially for retirement. It is critical for Millennials to begin saving and investing for their retirements early in their careers. Few studies analyzed this generation's retirement saving behavior. Using data from the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study is among the first ones to examine the state of Millennials' retirement savings, including retirement account ownership and balance. Results show that only 37.2% of Millennials had any kind of account earmarked for retirement; and among those with a retirement account, the average accumulated amount was $21,333. Factors that affected retirement saving behavior included age; education; total household income and assets; job tenure; self-employment; having a retirement saving motive; having a defined benefit plan; overspending; and risk tolerance. This study provided initial insights that can help financial planners and educators, as well as policymakers understand Millennials' current retirement savings behavior and help them achieve a financially comfortable retirement.

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ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the relationship between eating speed and food temperature and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Chinese population.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted between December 2020 to March 2022 from the department of Endocrinology at the Shandong Provincial Hospital. All recruited participants were asked to complete structured questionnaires on their eating behaviors at the time of recruitment. Clinical demographic data such as gender, age, height, weight, familial history of T2DM, prevalence of T2DM and various eating behaviors were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the associations between eating behaviors and T2DM.ResultsA total of 1,040 Chinese adults were included in the study, including 344 people with T2DM and 696 people without T2DM. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the general population showed that gender (OR = 2.255, 95% CI: 1.559–3.260, p < 0.001), age (OR = 1.091, 95% CI: 1.075–1.107, p < 0.001), BMI (OR = 1.238, 95% CI: 1.034–1.483, p = 0.020), familial history of T2DM (OR = 5.709, 95% CI: 3.963–8.224, p < 0.001), consumption of hot food (OR = 4.132, 95% CI: 2.899–5.888, p < 0.001), consumption of snacks (OR = 1.745, 95% CI: 1.222–2.492, p = 0.002), and eating speed (OR = 1.292, 95% CI:1.048–1.591, p = 0.016) were risk factors for T2DM.ConclusionIn addition to traditional risk factors such as gender, age, BMI, familial history of T2DM, eating behaviors associated with Chinese culture, including consumption of hot food, consumption of snacks, and fast eating have shown to be probable risk factors for T2DM.

This study evaluated the way life-changing events affect older adults' preferred and actual retirement age using the 1992/1993, 1994/1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 surveys of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). In this dissertation, retirement timing was measured by the gap between a person's actual retirement year and planned retirement year. The study focused on three categories of major life-changing events--marital, health, and financial status changes--and how they were associated with individuals' retirement timing. The study compared characteristics of individuals who retired earlier than their preferred retirement time to those who delayed retirement and retired on time. The findings provide insights into the way life-changing events and other factors influence the time people exit the workforce. The discussion section offers recommendations for researchers as well as financial educators and practitioners working with older adults to increase awareness of life-changing events' effects on retirement time. After controlling for other factors, the findings lend empirical support to the belief that some major life-changing events are significantly associated with individuals' retirement time. The results showed consistent positive correlations between retirement timing and whether a person was widowed, experienced a positive income shock, or had diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. Other life-changing events were found to have statistically significant negative correlations. Negative associations existed with mental health status changes; people who reported they were depressed or received a diagnosis of a psychiatric problem retired earlier than planned.