title: Effects of the Change in Working Status on the Health of Older People in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Working at old ages is regarded as a good way to keep one's health according to the idea of productive aging. However, there is not enough evidence yet whether retirement is good or bad, or the kind of effects it has on the health of older adults aged 65 and over. We examined it by using a recent data of Wako city, a suburb area near Tokyo in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand seven hundred sixty-eight participants answered to 3 waves of survey questionnaires: 2008, 2010, and 2012, successively. We considered 3 indicators of health; self-rated health, mental health (GDS15) and HLFC (Higher-Level Functional Capacity: TMIG-IC). In cross-sectional analysis, we compared these 3 indicators by three groups: full-time worker, part-time worker, and non-worker. In longitudinal analysis, we compared these three indicators by two groups: subjects who successively worked in 2008, 2010, 2012, and subjects who worked in 2008 but retired before 2010. We used one-way and two way repeated measures ANCOVA for these analyses, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was significantly clear that retirement worsened both mental health and HLFC in people aged 65 years and over; especially, mental health worsened rapidly and HLFC gradually. However, these indicators didn't worsen in subjects who changed from full-time jobs to part-time jobs. Quitting from part-time jobs deteriorated mental health gradually and HLFC moderately compared to full-time jobs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results support the activity theory that older adults who quit from full-time jobs deteriorated both mental health and HLFC, though at different speeds. If they make a transit to part-time jobs, the deterioration would be moderate. It shows that working is an effective way of social participation for older people aged 65 years and over in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.|Graduate School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ushio
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research Promotion, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukaya
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.|Faculty of Human Welfare, Seigakuin University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasebe
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.|College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male