Associations between combinations of job demands and job control among 6,16,818 people aged 55-64 in paid work with their labour market status 11 years later: a prospective cohort study

Background Given current discussions about extending working lives, more knowledge is needed on working conditions associated with labour market status in older age. Objective To explore associations between combinations of job demands and job control among workers aged 55-64 years and their labour market status 11 years later. Methods A population-based prospective cohort study using nationwide register data. The 616,818 individuals in Sweden aged 55-64 who in 2001 were in paid work were categorised using a job exposure matrix based on tertiles (reference = medium control/medium demands). Participants were followed up in 2012 regarding their main labour market status (paid work, old-age pension, no income/social assistance, sickness absence/disability pension, emigrated, dead; reference = old-age pension) using multinomial logistic regression for odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The fully adjusted analyses included adjustment for sociodemographic factors and unemployment or sickness absence/disability pension for more than half the year in 2001. Results Those in occupations with low job control at baseline were less likely to be in paid work at follow-up (OR low demands/low control 0.74, CI 0.71-0.78; high demands/low control 0.81, CI 0.75-0.87). Those in occupations with baseline high demands were less likely to have no income/social assistance at follow-up (OR high demands/low control 0.71, CI 0.52-0.96; high demands/high control 0.59, CI 0.47-0.75). Conclusion Job demands and control when aged 55-64 were associated with labour market status 11 years later: high control was associated with greater chance of being in paid work, and high demands were associated with lower risk of no income/social assistance.