The influence of chronic health problems and work-related factors on loss of paid employment among older workers

Abstract

All health problems affected disability benefits to a similar extent, but psychological health problems especially predicted unemployment and early retirement. For older workers with health problems, promoting an optimal work environment has the potential to contribute to sustainable employment.

The influence of poor health on competing exit routes from paid employment among older workers in 11 European countries

“…Yet, the percentage of people re-entering the work force is relatively low, ranging from roughly 30% for unemployed to 1% for early retirement. These numbers are similar to what has previously been reported in other studies (8,49).…”

“…The relation between poor health and disability benefit is not surprising since a declined health is one of the essential requirements for receiving such a benefit. Furthermore, our results corroborate findings from previous research (1,(7)(8)(9). Various studies have reported a relation between poor health and the exit route of unemployment (eg, 41, 42).…”

“…The literature is not conclusive about the relation between poor health and early retirement. In van Rijn et al's meta-analysis (1), a statistically significant increased risk of early retirement was reported (pooled RR 1.27), while recent studies using a competing risks approach did not find a significant relation (HR 0.91-1.11, SHR 0.87-1.10) (7,8). A possible explanation for these mixed findings is that in this exit route other factors, such as financial arrangements, social situations, and welfare state regime, play a more prominent role (5,44,45).…”

“…Thus, it is important to include these so-called competing events (ie, exit routes other than the event of interest) in the analysis when estimating the relation between health and labor force exit. Until now, few studies have applied a competing risk analysis to determine the relation between poor health and multiple exit routes (7)(8)(9). Competing risk analysis is an alternative for conventional survival analysis in the presence of multiple (competing) exit routes of paid employment.…”

Joint association of multimorbidity and work ability with risk of long-term sickness absence: a prospective cohort study with register follow-up

“…In Denmark, 34.9% of the adult population report having at least one chronic disease and the prevalence increases with age (2). As the elderly accounts for an increasing proportion of the total population in most western societies, the age of the general workforce is rising (3,4). Because of the strong association between chronic disease and age (2,5), the proportion of workers with poor health is growing.…”