Determinants of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Workers' Intent to Work Past Age 65: An Analysis From the Life Course Perspective.

Background: The average retirement age in the United States (U.S.) has increased over the past few decades. However, the rate of increase for Hispanics is lower than that for non-Hispanics. For Hispanics, the decision to retire later may be more influenced by their migration history and context rather than health or finances. Objective: This study aims to explore the differences in the determinants of intentions to delay retirement (i.e., work beyond the age of 65) between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites in the U.S. Methods: A pooled sample was generated from all waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2014), including a unique record for each non-institutionalized individual aged 55-61 who was employed. All eligible Hispanics (n = 3,663) were included, while a random sample of non-Hispanic Whites (n = 3,663) was selected. Logistic mixed models were conducted for each group, and a Two-fold Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis was used to explore differences between the groups. Results: The results indicate that non-Hispanic Whites are more likely to plan to postpone retirement. Furthermore, significant differences were found between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites regarding their intentions to delay retirement, specifically related to socioeconomic indicators such as individual earnings, amount of debt, level of education, and parents' level of education. The differences between the groups were primarily influenced by the amount of debt, having a defined benefit plan, and parents' level of education, reflecting the cumulative disadvantage experienced by Hispanics over their life course. Conclusion: Most existing research on the topic has focused on middle-class Whites, while few studies have examined race or ethnicity as the primary focus or explored the extent to which commonly identified predictors of delayed retirement apply to different ethno-racial groups. This is significant because Hispanics and other disadvantaged groups tend to experience financial insecurity during retirement, which directly impacts their health and well-being.

Physical impairment in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies is associated with the American College of Rheumatology functional status measure.

The goals of this study were to assess the predictive value of chart-abstracted American College of Rheumatology functional status (ACR-FS) with patient-reported ACR-FS and to relate it with measures of muscle function in a single-institution cohort of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). Demographic and clinical data of 102 patients with IIMs regularly followed in the Rheumatology and Neurology Clinics at the University of Kentucky Medical Center between 2006 and 2012 were obtained through retrospective chart review. Clinical and functional status evaluation, muscle performance testing, and body composition measures were performed on a subset of 21 patients. ACR-FS was obtained by both chart abstraction and direct patient report. Spearman's correlations were used to examine the relationship of ACR-FS derived from chart abstraction with direct patient report, as well as the relationship of measures of physical function and body composition with ACR-FS. ACR-FS derived from chart abstraction was significantly correlated with ACR-FS derived from direct patient report (ρ = 0.78, p < 0.001). ACR-FS derived from chart abstraction was also significantly correlated with patient-reported physical function (ρ = -0.71, p < 0.001) and physical activity (ρ = -0.58, p < 0.05), manual muscle testing (ρ = -0.66, p < 0.01), and skeletal muscle endurance as measured by the functional index-2 test (shoulder flexion ρ = -0.62, p < 0.01; hip flexion ρ = -0.65, p < 0.0; heel lift ρ = -0.67, p < 0.01; and toe lift ρ = -0.68, p < 0.01). The ACR-FS is a simple measure of disability that can be used in chart abstraction studies involving IIM patients. We have demonstrated that ACR-FS correlates well with muscle performance tests of strength and endurance.