Association of multimorbidity with working life expectancy among adults aged 50 years and older: Findings from two prospective cohort studies.

BACKGROUND

Individual diseases are important risk factors for early exit from the labour force among older adults, but the contribution of multimorbidity to working life expectancy (WLE) is unclear.

METHODS

We used data from two prospective cohort studies: Finnish Public Sector study (FPS) and Health and Social Support Study (HeSSup). Multimorbidity at baseline was ascertained from a combination of self-reported, physician-diagnosed chronic diseases, and nationwide cancer and medication reimbursement registers. WLE from age 50 up to 68 years was ascertained utilising linked data from a nationwide register of pensionable earnings. WLE was estimated utilising a multi-state models in R.

RESULTS

Our findings were based on data from 56,079 women and 17,078 men aged ≥50 years. In FPS, women and men with two chronic diseases could expect to work about 9 months less and those with three or more chronic diseases could expect to work about a year less than those with no chronic disease. In HeSSup, women and men with three or more diseases had about 2-3 years shorter WLEs than those with no disease. In both studies participants with physical-mental multimorbidity had 3-12 months shorter WLEs and individuals with multimorbidity comprising two physical diseases had 8-10 months shorter WLEs than those with no chronic disease. The patterns were similar across the socioeconomic positions.

CONCLUSION

Women and men with multiple chronic diseases could expect to work ∼1 year less than those with no chronic disease. The differences in WLE can have important economic implications to individuals, health services and society.