IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v32y2023i7p1561-1580.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cognitive activity at work and the risk of dementia

Author

Listed:
  • Nicolau Martin‐Bassols
  • Sonja C. de New
  • David W. Johnston
  • Michael A. Shields

Abstract

Dementia prevalence is projected to rise steeply in coming decades, producing tremendous burdens on families, and health and social services. Motivated by the need for further robust evidence on modifiable risk factors, we investigate the relationship between cognitive activity at work and later‐life dementia. Using data from the US Health and Retirement Study matched to the O*NET occupational database, we find that a one standard deviation increase in the cognitive activity associated with one's longest held occupation is associated with a 0.9 percentage point reduction in (predicted) dementia, or a 24% reduction relative to the mean. This relationship is consistently found across model specifications and robustness tests. When controlling for individual fixed‐effects we find that the association between dementia and work cognitive activity increases with age. Overall, our results provide some evidence in support of the inclusion of cognitive activity at work as a recognized modifiable risk factor for dementia.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolau Martin‐Bassols & Sonja C. de New & David W. Johnston & Michael A. Shields, 2023. "Cognitive activity at work and the risk of dementia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(7), pages 1561-1580, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:32:y:2023:i:7:p:1561-1580
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4679
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4679
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.4679?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bastian Ravesteijn & Hans van Kippersluis & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2018. "The wear and tear on health: What is the role of occupation?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 69-86, February.
    2. Joanne W. Hsu & Robert Willis, 2013. "Dementia Risk and Financial Decision Making by Older Households: The Impact of Information," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(4), pages 340-377.
    3. David H. Autor & David Dorn, 2013. "The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the US Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1553-1597, August.
    4. Padmaja Ayyagari & David Frisvold, 2016. "The Impact of Social Security Income on Cognitive Function at Older Ages Full Access," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 463-488, Fall.
    5. Carlos Cinelli & Chad Hazlett, 2020. "Making sense of sensitivity: extending omitted variable bias," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 82(1), pages 39-67, February.
    6. Eileen M. Crimmins & Jung Ki Kim & Kenneth M. Langa & David R. Weir, 2011. "Assessment of Cognition Using Surveys and Neuropsychological Assessment: The Health and Retirement Study and the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 66(suppl_1), pages 162-171.
    7. Elena Cottini & Claudio Lucifora, 2013. "Mental Health and Working Conditions in Europe," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 958-988, July.
    8. Jason M. Fletcher & Jody L. Sindelar & Shintaro Yamaguchi, 2011. "Cumulative effects of job characteristics on health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(5), pages 553-570, May.
    9. Ross Andel & Michael Crowe & Nancy L. Pedersen & James Mortimer & Eileen Crimmins & Boo Johansson & Margaret Gatz, 2005. "Complexity of Work and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A Population-Based Study of Swedish Twins," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 60(5), pages 251-258.
    10. Dang, Archana & Maitra, Pushkar & Menon, Nidhiya, 2019. "Labor market engagement and the body mass index of working adults: Evidence from India," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 58-77.
    11. Kay Deckers & Syenna H J Schievink & Maria M F Rodriquez & Robert J van Oostenbrugge & Martin P J van Boxtel & Frans R J Verhey & Sebastian Köhler, 2017. "Coronary heart disease and risk for cognitive impairment or dementia: Systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Schmitz, Lauren L., 2016. "Do working conditions at older ages shape the health gradient?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 183-197.
    13. Su H. Shin & Dean R. Lillard & Jay Bhattacharya, 2019. "Understanding the Correlation between Alzheimer’s Disease Polygenic Risk, Wealth, and the Composition of Wealth Holdings," NBER Working Papers 25526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ben Halima, Mohamed Ali & Greenan, Nathalie & Lanfranchi, Joseph, 2023. "Getting sick for profit? The impact of cumulative ICT and management changes on long term sickness absence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 659-688.
    2. Nicholas, Lauren Hersch & Done, Nicolae & Baum, Micah, 2020. "Lifetime job demands and later life disability," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    3. Elena Cottini & Paolo Ghinetti, 2020. "Health Effects of Risky Lifestyles and Adverse Working Conditions: Are Older Individuals More Penalized?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(4), pages 973-1003, December.
    4. Belloni, Michele & Carrino, Ludovico & Meschi, Elena, 2022. "The impact of working conditions on mental health: Novel evidence from the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Pak, Tae-Young & Babiarz, Patryk, 2018. "Does cognitive aging affect portfolio choice?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 1-12.
    6. Thomas Barnay & Éric Defebvre, 2023. "Work strains and disabilities in French workers: A career‐long retrospective study," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 37(3), pages 385-408, September.
    7. Strulik, Holger, 2022. "A health economic theory of occupational choice, aging, and longevity," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Lauren L. Schmitz & Courtney L. McCluney & Amanda Sonnega & Margaret T. Hicken, 2019. "Interpreting Subjective and Objective Measures of Job Resources: The Importance of Sociodemographic Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, August.
    9. Eichhorst, Werner, 2015. "Do We Have to Be Afraid of the Future World of Work?," IZA Policy Papers 102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Ana Lucia Abeliansky & Holger Strulik, 2023. "Health and aging before and after retirement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 2825-2855, October.
    11. Jean Philippe Décieux & Alexandra Mergener, 2021. "German Labor Emigration in Times of Technological Change: Occupational Characteristics and Geographical Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, January.
    12. Belloc, Filippo & Burdin, Gabriel & Cattani, Luca & Ellis, William & Landini, Fabio, 2022. "Coevolution of job automation risk and workplace governance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(3).
    13. Eric Defebvre, 2016. "Harder, better, faster... yet stronger? Working conditions and self-declaration of chronic diseases," TEPP Working Paper 2016-07, TEPP.
    14. Marine Coupaud, 2020. "The mediating role of working conditions in the analysis of the links between offshoring and health of European workers," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1522-1537.
    15. Antón, José-Ignacio & Fernández-Macías, Enrique & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2020. "Does Robotization Affect Job Quality? Evidence from European Regional Labour Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 13975, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Alejandro Donado, 2021. "Why do they JUST DO IT? A Theory of Outsourcing and Working Conditions," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 559-586, July.
    17. Zazdravnykh, Evgeniy & Rodionova, Tatiana & Taraskina, Elena & Garipova, Farida, 2023. "The effects of occupational hazards and health-related behavior on workers’ health: A multivariate probit approach," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 71, pages 76-98.
    18. Éric Defebvre, 2018. "Harder, better, faster … Yet stronger? Working conditions and self‐declaration of chronic diseases," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 59-76, March.
    19. Michaud, Amanda & Wiczer, David, 2018. "Occupational hazards and social disability insurance," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 77-92.
    20. Brady P. Horn & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael R. Strain, 2017. "Do Minimum Wage Increases Influence Worker Health?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1986-2007, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:32:y:2023:i:7:p:1561-1580. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.