Untangling the web

Other questions merit further exploration. There is a link between retirement and the cognitive function of an elderly person. However, it is important to qualify these results by taking into account the different factors that could play a role in this link.

In particular, it has been observed that the effect of retirement is more marked in men than in women (4). From a social point of view, and in a general sense, work constitutes the central identity of men. Upon retirement, men go “from everything to nothing”. This effect is less marked in women who are more apt to become involved in other activities (housework-related tasks and the education of children, for example). “It should be noted that this effect may no longer be present among future generations”, says Catherine Grotz.

The type of profession is probably not insignificant either. “Two studies (5) carried out among normal subjects have demonstrated that the negative effect of retirement only continues for white-collar workers, that is to say, intellectual-type professions”, indicates Catherine Grotz. This is understandable: Once retired, a manual worker has more leisure time opportunities to take up activities whose cognitive element is more pronounced than during his career as a “blue-collar” worker.

To sum up, we should ask the question as to whether the effect of retirement on cognition is only a brain issue because if a long number of years of work make it possible to stimulate the brain for a longer time and therefore participate in the creation of the cognitive reserve, psychosocial factors (sense of usefulness and self-esteem) also have a role to play (6). An analogy with holidays can be drawn here. When we are working we are cognitively alert: we manage different activities, life is punctuated by work and weekdays. When we plan holidays, we are full of good intentions and we plan to indulge in a full complement of activities. When we arrive in the holiday destination, the plans go out the window, we become cognitively relaxed and after a few days we no longer even know what day of the week it is. If we tested our cognitive performances before and after the holiday, there would certainly be a difference which would be explained by this cognitive relaxation. The effect of retirement is probably similar to that of holidays. In the retired individual, the brain relaxes and this certainly has an impact on cognition.

“It is becoming more and more evident that psychological and social factors and not biological ones affect the memory”, explains Catherine Grotz. “We therefore think that retirement can also influence memory function via these psychosocial factors. Retired individuals are the target of certain negative stereotypes, a form of ageism whose harmful effect on cognition has been demonstrated. For example, the simple fact of activating negative stereotypes linked to age (cognitive decline with ageing and comparison with the performance of younger individuals) has an impact on memory performance in elderly subjects (7). The newly retired individual can sometimes have the impression of being less useful and being a burden to society which could have a negative effect on his memory performance”.

Catherine Grotz also points out that a study(8) conducted by Ross Andel (University of South Florida) shows that a lack of intellectual stimulation at work can be compensated by leisure activities characterized by their richness in a cognitive sense and vice-versa.

Another point, among others which needs to be raised is the following: what is the cognitive impact of retirement according to whether it is voluntary or imposed? In short, in order to untangle the web of relations between the age of retirement and the consequent evolution of cognitive faculties, including the appearance of a neuro-degenerative dementia, there is probably a multitude of variables to be taken into account. Examination of the respective influence of some of these will be central to a future scientific contribution by Catherine Grotz.

(5) Coe N, von Gaudecker HM, Lindeboom M, Maurer J, 2009. The effect of Retirement on Cognitive Functioning, Netspar Discussion Paper 10/2009-044.
(6) Grotz C, Meillon C, Amieva H, Stern Y, Dartigues J-F, et al (soumis). Why is later age at retirement beneficial for cognition? Results from a French population-based study.
(7) Abrams D, Eller A, Bryant J. (2006) An age apart: the effects of intergenerational contact and stereotype threat on performance and intergroup bias. Psychology Aging 21:691-702.
(8) Andel R, Silverstein M, Kareholt I (2015) The role of midlife occupational complexity and leisure activity in late-life cognition. J Gerontol B Psycho Sci Soc Sci 70:314-21.