Impact of retirement on health-related conditions, leisure, and physical activity in older adults

Introduction:Retirement represents a transition in the life of older people.It involves social, physical, and psychological changes that impact the quality of life and well-being.This study aimed to analyze the influence of retirement on biopsychosocial variables and the prevalence of chronic diseases in retired older adults compared with older actively working adults.Methods: We obtained data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study.We analyzed the data collected exclusively from people 60 years and older from the 2015 to 2018 waves.First, we compared the demographic characteristics, the prevalence of chronic diseases, frequency of health screenings, and other health-related conditions, as well as biopsychosocial variables, between retired older adults and their working peers in the 2018 wave.Second, we documented and compared their change of status in biopsychosocial variables across the two different time periods (surveys 2015 and 2018).Results: Changes in self-perceived health and wellbeing were not significant after retirement.However, in the comparative analysis, the retired older adults reported less physical activity (30.8% vs. 44.9%,p < 0.001), higher prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (31.7% vs. 19.6%,p < 0.001, and 46.6% vs. 38.9%,p = 0.011), and more doctor visits (83.8% vs. 76.4%,p = 0.005).They also showed more significant involvement in leisure activities (p < 0.001) than those working.Conclusion: These data demonstrate that retirement is an important checkpoint in life to focus on health care for the detection and prevention of health problems that cause dependence on care and negatively affect the quality of life of older adults.