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Cited by 437Health disparities and outcomesRetirement, Disability, and EmploymentEmployment and Welfare Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Do socioeconomic differences in mortality persist after retirement? 25 Year follow up of civil servants from the first Whitehall study

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Marmot, M G, Shipley, Martin J·1996·BMJ
DOI 10.1136/bmj.313.7066.1177PMC PMC2352486
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Abstract

Abstract Objective : To assess the risk of death associated with work based and non-work based measures of socioeconomic status before and after retirement age. Design : Follow up study of mortality in relation to employment grade and car ownership over 25 years. Setting : The first Whitehall study. Subjects : 18 133 male civil servants aged 40–69 years who attended a screening examination between 1967 and 1970. Main outcome measure : Death. Results : Grade of employment was a strong predictor of mortality before retirement. For men dying at ages 40–64 the lowest employment grade had 3.12 times the mortality of the highest grade (95% confidence interval 2.4 to 4.1). After retirement the ability of grade to predict mortality declined (rate ratio 1.86; 1.6 to 2.2). A non-work based measure of socioeconomic status (car ownership) predicted mortality less well than employment grade before retirement but its ability to predict mortality declined less after retirement. Using a relative index of inequality that was sensitive to the distribution among socioeconomic groups showed employment grade and car ownership to have independent associations with mortality that were of equal magnitude after retirement. The absolute difference in death rates between the lowest and highest employment grades increased with age from 12.9 per 1000 person years at ages 40–64 to 38.3 per 1000 at ages 70–89. Conclusions : Socioeconomic differences in mortality persist beyond retirement age and in magnitude increase with age. Social differentials in mortality based on an occupational status measure seem to decrease to a greater degree after retirement than those based on a non-work measure. This suggests that alongside other socioeconomic factors work itself may play an important part in generating social inequalities in health in men of working age. Key messages Relative differences in mortality between low and high employment grades are less after retirement, suggesting the importance of work in generating inequalities in health A non-work based measure of socioeconomic status (after adjustment for employment grade) continues to predict relative differences in mortality after retirement Absolute differences in mortality between less and more advantaged groups increase at older ages

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  1. Numerical Algorithms Group GLIM system release 3.77 manual. Oxford:NAG, 1987.

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Metadata

Authors
Marmot, M. G., & Shipley, M. J.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Marmot, M G
ORCID
Marmot, M G
Venue
BMJ
Publisher
BMJ
Published
1996-11-09
Volume
313
Issue
7066
Pages
1177-1180
ISSN
  • 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
  • 0959-8138
  • 1468-5833
DOI
10.1136/bmj.313.7066.1177
PMC
PMC2352486
OpenAlex
W2094548557
Cited by
437
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 15
FWCI
7.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.bmj.com/company/legal-information/terms-conditions/legal-information/tdm-licencepolicy (tdm)
Locations
  • BMJ (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • British Heart Foundation
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Retirement, Disability, and Employment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Employment and Welfare Studies
Keywords
socioeconomic inequalities in mortality, retirement, employment grade, car ownership, socioeconomic status, health disparities, Whitehall study, public sector employees, occupational status, mortality risk, age differences in mortality
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Cause of Death, England, Follow-Up Studies, Government, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mortality, Retirement, Social Class, Socioeconomic Factors, Survival Rate

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