Gender and social class differences in the association between early retirement and health in Spain

Objectives: We sought to examine the association between reasons for early retirement and health status and to assess whether this association differs by gender and social class. Methods: The sample was all people currently working or retired between 50 and 64 years of age (2,497 men and 1,420 women) who were interviewed in the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey. The health outcomes analyzed were self-perceived health status and mental health. Multiple logistic regression models stratified by gender and occupational social class were fitted. Results: Female manual workers who were forced into early retirement due to organizational reasons were more likely to report poor self-perceived health status (adjusted odds ration [aOR], 4.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.44-11.32) and poor mental health (aOR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.15-6.33), whereas no such association was observed among male workers or among female nonmanual workers. Early retirement on health grounds was associated with both health outcomes in all groups, but retirement because of age, voluntary retirement, and retirement for other reasons were not related to poor health outcomes in any group analyzed. Discussion: Forced early retirement owing to organizational reasons is related to poor health indicators only among female manual workers. Results highlight the importance of paying more attention to the potential vulnerability of female manual workers in downsizing processes as well as in early retirement policies.