SynthesisBMC public health2021
Is working in later life good for your health? A systematic review of health outcomes resulting from extended working lives.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Associations Between Employment and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Reviews.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Working out of necessity: how job lock shapes health for older workers.The Gerontologist · 2026Article
- Review
- Drivers of health inequalities across education level among older Filipinos: a decomposition analysis using nationwide survey data.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Emotional demands and burnout: Differential moderating effect of job resources and age.PloS one · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic disparities and nutritional aging: how food insecurity and financial hardship accelerate health decline in older adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- [Critical analysis of the conceptualization of work among older adults in the contemporary era].Cadernos de saude publica · 2026Article
- Psychosocial correlates of well-being among retired academics at Ghanaian Universities.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Optimizing work performance and engagement in adults with hearing loss: the role of hearing devices.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Age-based stereotype threat and intention to work beyond retirement age: testing the indirect effect through stress.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2025Article
- Retirement as risk or relief? The role of timing in mental, physical and cognitive health effects of retirement.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- Effects of engaging in remunerated productive activities on people with cognitive impairment: a pilot study.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Impact of a government-led employment program on the onset of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in older adults: A nationwide longitudinal study.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Time until exit from paid work after ages 65-69 and ≥ 70, respectively: importance of prior sickness absence and disability pension.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Aging Attitudes Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Disabilities: Gender Differences and Predictors.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Psychosocial work determinants of older adults' participation in the job market: protocol for a scoping review of quantitative longitudinal studies.Systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Predicting active and productive engagement: introducing the index of aging in midlife and beyond (IAM+).Innovation in aging · 2025Article
- The association of agricultural and non-agricultural work on the healthy ageing of older adults in Japan: A 6-year longitudinal study from the Japan Gerontological evaluation study.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- "I can't let it stop me": perspectives on aging from older adults with sickle cell disease.Journal of sickle cell disease · 2025Article
- Perceived health, quality of life and happiness among older professional artisans in a UNESCO Creative City of crafts and folk art.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWork, rather than unemployment, is recognised as being good for health, but there may be an age when the benefits are outweighed by adverse impacts. As countries around the world increase their typical retirement age, the potential effect on population health and health inequalities requires scrutiny.
methodsWe carried out a systematic review of literature published since 2011 from developed countries on the health effects of employment in those over 64 years of age. We completed a narrative synthesis and used harvest plots to map the direction and volume of evidence for the outcomes reported. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) checklist in our methods and reporting.
resultsWe identified seventeen relevant studies, which were of cohort or cross-sectional design. The results indicate evidence of beneficial or neutral effects from extended working on overall health status and physical health for many employees, and mixed effects on mental health. The benefits reported however, are most likely to be for males, those working part-time or reducing to part-time, and employees in jobs which are not low quality or low reward.
conclusionsExtending working life (particularly part time) may have benefits or a neutral effect for some, but adverse effects for others in high demand or low reward jobs. There is the potential for widening health inequalities between those who can choose to reduce their working hours, and those who need to continue working full time for financial reasons. There is a lack of evidence for effects on quality of life, and a dearth of interventions enabling older workers to extend their healthy working life.
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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.