MINNEAPOLIS—Insomnia symptoms at age 50 are associated with an increased risk of early retirement because of poor health or disability, according to research presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Insomnia symptoms in midlife also are associated, albeit less strongly, with an increased risk of retiring because of dislike for one’s job and because of a desire to pursue other interests.
To examine a previously identified association between insomnia symptoms at midlife, defined as age 50, and early retirement, Lauren Hale, PhD, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University in New York, and colleagues analyzed data from the Retirement and Sleep Trajectory (REST) study. REST is a subset of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort study, a population-based sample of Wisconsin state employees who were between ages 30 and 60 when the study began in 1989.
Lauren Hale, PhD
Examining a Subset of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort
To qualify for REST, participants in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort study submitted surveys in 1989, 1994, and 2000. In the REST study, participants responded to annual surveys between 2010 and 2013 that asked questions about sleep, health, retirement, and life after or during retirement. The survey had a response rate of approximately 80%, and about 1,600 people provided complete data for the analysis.
At age 50, approximately 40% of participants reported at least one insomnia symptom, and 20% reported more than one insomnia symptom. The most common symptom was repeated nocturnal awakenings, which was reported by 28% of the sample.
About 66% of participants had retired by 2013, and the mean age of retirement was 61. After the researchers adjusted the data for covariates, they concluded that insomnia symptoms were strongly and significantly associated with retirement because of poor health or disability. Insomnia symptoms at midlife also increased the risk of retiring because of a dislike for one’s job or because of a desire to do other things, but these associations were weaker.
Dr. Hale and colleagues observed a dose–response relationship between insomnia symptoms and the likelihood of retiring because of poor health or disability. Participants with the most symptoms were almost twice as likely to retire early as those with no symptoms. A dose–response relationship also was apparent between insomnia symptoms and retiring because of a dislike for one’s job and retiring because of a desire to do other things.
The researchers found no association between insomnia symptoms at age 50 and retiring early because of being laid off. Insomnia symptoms at midlife also were not associated with early retirement to provide care for family or friends.
Temporal Sequence of Factors Is Uncertain
The study indicates potential grounds for future research. For example, the temporal sequence of insomnia, poor health, and early retirement is not completely clear, said Dr. Hale. “It looks like at age 50, the insomnia is preceding the poor health and then leading to the early retirement ... but there are many unmeasured health variables that might be preceding the insomnia at age 50 and then leading to early retirement,” she said. Social, psychosocial, and cultural factors could lead to concurrent insomnia and poor health that lead to early retirement. “We hope to probe into that in the future,” Dr. Hale concluded.
—Erik Greb