Retirement and cognitive decline? Analysis from a prospective study of adults in England

Background:

The proportion of older working people in Europe has increased in the past decade, partly due to an increase in the retirement age in certain countries. These trends have led to increased interest on the impact of work on the cognitive health of older workers, and specifically, whether remaining at work delays age-related cognitive decline. The aim of this study is to determine whether retirement from work is associated with a decrease in episodic memory, compared to remaining at work.

Methods:

In this prospective, population-based study, using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we examined 3089 persons aged 50 – 75 years who were in paid work at baseline. Episodic memory was measured by immediate and delayed word recall (WR) tests. We estimated differences in memory scores between when retirees last worked (baseline) and their follow-up (two and four years later), and compared them to the difference in scores of individuals who remained at work.

Results:

Retirees increased in immediate WR (ß= 0.16, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.29, p = 0.02) and composite episodic memory (ß= 0.25, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.48, p = 0.03) scores between baseline and a 2-year follow-up compared to those at work. There was no association between retirement and delayed WR (p > 0.5). Results were similar at the four-year follow-up. Findings were comparable for participants between 50 – 65 years at baseline, but no association was found for participants over 65 years of age (p > 0.10).

Conclusion:

This study implies a small but significant increase in episodic memory for retirees compared to those who remain at work. This suggests that retirement is not necessarily associated with subsequent cognitive decline. Further studies are needed to investigate the association of retirement on other cognitive measures.