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Insomnia as a predictor of job exit among middle-aged and older adults: results from the Health and Retirement Study
  1. Liming Dong1,
  2. Jacqueline Agnew2,
  3. Ramin Mojtabai3,4,
  4. Pamela J Surkan5,
  5. Adam P Spira3,4,6
  1. 1 Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  2. 2 Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  3. 3 Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  4. 4 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  5. 5 Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  6. 6 Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Liming Dong, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; lmdong{at}umich.edu

Abstract

Objectives Poor health is a recognised predictor of workforce exit, but little is known about the role of insomnia in workforce exit. We examined the association between insomnia symptoms and subsequent job exit among middle-aged and older adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

Methods The study sample consisted of 5746 respondents aged between 50 and 70 who were working for pay when interviewed in the HRS 2004 and were followed up in the HRS 2006. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the association between number of insomnia symptoms (0, 1–2, 3–4) and job exit (no exit, health-related exit or exit due to other reasons).

Results In models adjusting for demographic characteristics, baseline health status and baseline job characteristics, compared with respondents with no insomnia symptoms, those with 3–4 insomnia symptoms had approximately twice the odds of leaving the workforce due to poor health (adjusted relative risk ratio=1.93, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.58, p=0.036). There was no association between insomnia and job exit due to non-health reasons.

Conclusions An elevated number of insomnia symptoms is independently associated with leaving paid employment. Workplace screening for and treatment of insomnia symptoms may prolong labour force participation of middle-aged and older adults.

  • SLEEP
  • OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
  • SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-208630

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors LD developed the research question, conducted data analyses and drafted the manuscript. JA, RM and APS contributed to the study design, data interpretation, revision of the manuscript and the final approval. PJS contributed to revision of the manuscript and the final approval. RM and APS also supervised the study.

    • Competing interests RM has received royalties from UpToDate, and consulting fees and research funding from Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb. APS has agreed to serve as a consultant to Awarables, in support of an NIH grant.

    • Ethics approval The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.