ORIGINAL ARTICLE From Midlife to Early Old Age Health Trajectories Associated With Retirement

ing health effects of retirement. This study examines longitudinally the associations of retirement with mental health and physical functioning. Methods: The participants were 7584 civil servants from the White-hall II cohort study aged 39–64 years at baseline and 54–76 years at the last follow-up. Self-reported mental health and physical functioning were assessed using the Short Form Medical Outcomes Survey questionnaire, and the scales were scored as T-scores (mean SD 50 10). Retirement status and health were assessed with 6 repeated measurements over a 15-year period. Results: The associations between retirement and health were de-pendent on age at retirement, reason for retirement, and length of time spent in retirement. Compared with continued employment, statutory retirement at age 60 and early voluntary retirement, re-spectively, were associated with 2.2 (95 % confidence interval 1.