Chronic conditions and self-perceived health among older employees in relation to indicators of labour participation and retirement over time.
Jacqueline G M Jennen, Nicole W H Jansen, Ludo G P M van Amelsvoort and 2 others
PMID 34924423WHAT IT FOUND
Employees with both mental and physical chronic conditions had higher risks of losing employment and receiving disability benefits over six years.
Self-perceived health predicted retirement intentions at baseline but showed no significant associations with labour outcomes over time.
Key findings
01Employees with coexistent physical-mental chronic conditions had a substantially higher risk for decreasing working hours over time compared to healthy employees.
02Employees with coexistent physical-mental chronic conditions had a substantial higher risk to lose employment over time compared to healthy employees.
03Employees with physical and coexistent physical-mental chronic condition(s) had significant higher risks to receive disability benefits over time compared to healthy employees.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study population was restricted to employees aged 45 to 59.17 years who were actively employed at baseline, excluding those already on disability or unemployment benefits, which may bias results toward healthier workers. The group with mental chronic conditions was very small (n = 62), limiting the ability to detect significant effects or study incident cases of disability benefits. Chronic conditions were self-reported via questionnaires, so the severity and impact of specific conditions were not assessed. Self-perceived health was measured with a single item, which may not capture the complexity of health perception. The four-year interval between baseline and the first follow-up may have missed earlier changes in health or work status, potentially underestimating the impact of incident chronic conditions.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improving self-perceived health will directly prevent early labour market exit, as this study found no significant longitudinal associations between self-perceived health and labour outcomes over time.