SynthesisBMC public health2013
Is retirement good for your health? A systematic review of longitudinal studies.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Does retirement trigger depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2021Pooled it
- Is working in later life good for your health? A systematic review of health outcomes resulting from extended working lives.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- The Association Between Training Load and Injury Risk in Elite Youth Soccer Players: a Systematic Review and Best Evidence Synthesis.Sports medicine - open · 2021Pooled it
- Disability as an Interpersonal Experience: A Systematic Review on Dyadic Challenges and Dyadic Coping When One Partner Has a Chronic Physical or Sensory Impairment.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- The Impact of Retirement on Cardiovascular Disease and Its Risk Factors: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.The Gerontologist · 2020Pooled it
- Association between retirement and mortality: working longer, living longer? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2020Pooled it
- How long retirement lasts matters: the effect of retirement duration on frailty in Europe.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Retirement timing, living arrangements and mental health: a multi-method investigation using Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2026Article
- Psychosocial stress from pre- to post-pandemic times: latent class mixed model analysis using data from a German cohort.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- An Integrated Analysis of Informal Caregiving and Psychosocial Work Stressors on Mental Health Trajectories in Later Life.Research square · 2026Article
- The cost of caring: Gendered health and labor market effects of grandparenthood.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Sex-specific global, regional and national burden of dysthymia and major depression disorder in older adults from 1990 to 2021: a systematic analysis of the global burden of disease 2021 study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Emotional Well-Being Trajectories Before and After Statutory Retirement-Contributions of Social and Health-Related Factors.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2026Article
- The transition to retirement and subsequent physical health among middle-aged and older adults in China: A life course perspective.PloS one · 2026Article
- The relationship between diet quality, measured by the recommended food score, and depression, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9: an observational study in Korea.Korean journal of family medicine · 2026Article
- "You lose confidence in yourself, I think, a little bit…" A qualitative study exploring the perceptions and experiences of the barriers and facilitators to wellbeing in women in work over 60 years old.Frontiers in sociology · 2026Article
- Article
- Retirement as risk or relief? The role of timing in mental, physical and cognitive health effects of retirement.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- The relationship between retirement, social isolation and loneliness: A longitudinal analysis using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Trajectories of depression across key events in later life: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2025Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSeveral studies regarding the effect of retirement on physical as well as mental health have been performed, but the results thereof remain inconclusive. The aim of this review is to systematically summarise the literature on the health effects of retirement, describing differences in terms of voluntary, involuntary and regulatory retirement and between blue-collar and white-collar workers.
methodsA search for longitudinal studies using keywords that referred to the exposure (retirement), outcome (health-related) and study design (longitudinal) was performed using several electronic databases. Articles were then selected for full text analysis and the reference lists of the selected studies were checked for relevant studies. The quality of the studies was rated based on predefined criteria. Data was analysed qualitatively by using a best evidence synthesis. When possible, pooled mean differences and effect sizes were calculated to estimate the effect of retirement on health.
resultsTwenty-two longitudinal studies were included, of which eleven were deemed to be of high quality. Strong evidence was found for retirement having a beneficial effect on mental health, and contradictory evidence was found for retirement having an effect on perceived general health and physical health. Few studies examined the differences between blue- and white-collar workers and between voluntary, involuntary and regulatory retirement with regards to the effect of retirement on health outcomes.
conclusionsMore longitudinal research on the health effects of retirement is needed, including research into potentially influencing factors such as work characteristics and the characteristics of retirement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.