abstract: 'Background: Despite a reduction in income inequalities between men and

  women, there is still a large gap between income and retirement savings

  of Australian men and women. This is especially true for women who have

  health or disability problems. Mature age women are closest to

  retirement and, therefore, have less chance than younger women to build

  up enough retirement savings and may need to continue working to fund

  their older age. Continued workforce participation may be particularly

  difficult for women who are less healthy. Understanding which health

  problems lead to a decrease in workforce participation among mature age

  women is crucial. Therefore, this longitudinal study sought to identify

  which health problems are associated with employment among midage women

  over time.

  Methods: Data were analyzed from the midage cohort of the Australian

  Longitudinal Study on Women''s Health (ALSWH), which involved 14,200

  midage women (aged 45-50 years in 1996). The women have been surveyed

  four additional times, in 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2007. Generalized

  estimating equations (GEE) were used to conduct nested multivariate

  longitudinal analyses.

  Results: The percentages of women who were employed in the years 2001,

  2004, and 2007 were 77\%, 72\%, and 68\%, respectively. Results were

  adjusted for sociodemographic variables. Being employed decreased as

  physical and mental health deteriorated and with self-reported

  conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and

  other psychiatric conditions. Back pain, arthritis, cancer, obesity, and

  being a current smoker are associated with employment but not when

  quality of life is added to the model.

  Conclusions: There were significant associations between health and

  employment. Understanding these relationships could inform policies and

  guidelines for preventing declines in employment in mature age women.'
affiliation: 'Pit, SW (Corresponding Author), Univ Sydney, Univ Ctr Rural Hlth, No
  Rivers Sch Publ Hlth, 61 Uralba St,POB 3074, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.

  Pit, Sabrina W., Univ Sydney, Univ Ctr Rural Hlth, No Rivers Sch Publ Hlth, Lismore,
  NSW 2480, Australia.

  Byles, Julie, Univ Newcastle, Res Ctr Gender Hlth \& Ageing, Callaghan, NSW 2308,
  Australia.'
author: Pit, Sabrina W. and Byles, Julie
author-email: sabrina.pit@sydney.edu.au
author_list:
- family: Pit
  given: Sabrina W.
- family: Byles
  given: Julie
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1089/jwh.2011.2872
files: []
issn: 1540-9996
journal: JOURNAL OF WOMENS HEALTH
keywords-plus: 'LABOR-FORCE PARTICIPATION; RETIREMENT; AUSTRALIA; TRANSITIONS; OBESITY;

  ADULTS; IMPACT; AGE'
language: English
month: MAR
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '31'
orcid-numbers: 'Byles, Julie E/0000-0002-3984-6877

  Achilova, Diyora/0000-0002-7645-9497'
pages: 273-280
papis_id: 778afd2fe8c2d37ffa97a5ca5c6d2df3
ref: Pit2012associationhealth
researcherid-numbers: 'Byles, Julie/IQS-6756-2023

  Byles, Julie E/C-5062-2008

  '
times-cited: '18'
title: 'The Association of Health and Employment in Mature Women: A Longitudinal Study'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000301292700004
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '13'
volume: '21'
web-of-science-categories: 'Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Medicine,
  General \&

  Internal; Obstetrics \& Gynecology; Women''s Studies'
year: '2012'