December 23, 2013

Can retirement kill you?

From BBC


Can retirement kill you?
By Bryan Borzykowski  |  14 August 2013

In 2003, Dr Harry Prosen stepped down as head of psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin, but the then 71-year-old had no plans to retire. Rather, the doctor intended to focus on other “jobs” that would keep him busy.

Now 83, Prosen still sees several patients, consults for a number of organisations, recently reviewed a 600-page manuscript for a friend and regularly pores over a handful of medical journals because he “just wants to keep up,” he said.

It’s not just a love of working that has kept Prosen toiling away 30 hours a week as an octogenarian. He also sees keeping busy as a matter of life or death.

Prosen said he is certain that if he stopped working entirely, he would literally die not long after.

He could be on to something. A number of studies show that retirement is, in fact, bad for your health.

A May 2013 report published by the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs found that retirement increased the chances of suffering from depression by 40%, while it increased the probability of having at least one diagnosed physical ailment by about 60%. That impact was assessed after controlling for the usual age-related conditions.

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