Leisure-time physical activity across older age according to retirement type: a longitudinal cohort study

Background Lower levels of physical activity are associated with morbidity and risk of functional decline with aging. Retirement occurs through heterogeneous pathways that may be associated with physical activity trajectories in later life. We examined long-term differences in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) across retirement types over 17 years among men and women. Understanding such differences may help identify risk groups and inform targeted interventions. Methods Data came from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study ( n = 1,958; mean age at baseline 61.6 years). LTPA was assessed up to three times using validated self-reports as metabolic equivalent of task (MET-hours/week). Retirement type and timing were obtained from national registers. Linear mixed models stratified by sex were fitted with age and retirement type × age interaction as predictors, adjusting for time since retirement, baseline socioeconomic status and chronic diseases, and time-varying smoking and body mass index. Results Of the participants, 40.8% transitioned to old-age retirement, 22.5% to disability retirement, 19.4% to part-time retirement, and 17.3% to unemployment retirement (an unemployment-related benefit). At baseline, participants in unemployment retirement reported the highest LTPA levels compared with the other groups (men: 53.8; women: 52.0 MET-hours/week; p = 0.005 and p = 0.027, respectively). Among men, LTPA decreased by 20.9 and 14.7 MET-hours/week between ages 62 and 80 among unemployment and disability retirees, respectively, compared with 8.8 MET-hours/week among old-age retirees (age × retirement type β = − 0.026, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.043 to -0.009, and − 0.032, 95% CI -0.051 to -0.013, respectively). Among women, LTPA decreased by 25.4 MET-hours/week among unemployment retirees compared with 19.2 MET-hours/week among old-age retirees (age × retirement type β = − 0.019, 95% CI -0.035 to -0.003). At age 80, men in old-age retirement had the highest predicted LTPA (24.2 MET-hours/week). Conclusions Declines in physical activity were most pronounced among unemployment and disability retirees, particularly men. Differences in both baseline activity levels and subsequent trajectories highlight the importance of considering retirement type when identifying groups at risk and designing strategies to support an active lifestyle and functional capacity in later life.