The Association Between Mental Health, Chronic Disease, and Retired Status Among Korean Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background Retired status has strong associations with mental health factors and involves gender disparities. However, while retirement is known to affect the mental health of the elderly, large-scale studies examining the impact on mental health by gender are scarce.Methods This cross-sectional study examined the data of 1,664 participants aged over 65 years old who completed the economic status and mental health sections of the 6-7th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2013–2017). We adjusted for covariates (health behavior, sociodemographic factors) in regression analysis for complex sampling design to calculate regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals of the link between retired status and mental health. We also assessed which covariates of chronic disease, health behavior, and sociodemographic factors weakened the correlation between retired status and mental health.Results Retired status in Korean populations has persisted to negatively impact the incidence of depressive symptoms and thoughts of suicide, even after adjusting for confounding variables. Regarding mental health, women were affected by retired status to a greater extent than men. Among covariates, health behaviors and sociodemographic factors were most affected by retired status. Women were more affected by household income, and men were more affected by drinking behaviors.Conclusions These results imply that chronic diseases and psychological factors should be managed delicately among the retired elderly, and that there may be gender differences in retirement adaptation.