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- Jan 13, 2010
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Married men should be careful not to retire before their wives because there will be no one at home to look after them, according to a new study. While wives report that their health begins to improve a few years after retiring, husbands remain convinced that their physical state is in decline the longer they are out of work – until their wives join them.
The change in husbands' attitude, laid bare in a survey of retired couples' perceptions of their own health, is down to the effect of having a good woman to care for them, experts said. Despite husbands believing that their health was in decline, the study – which also measured participants' heart condition – showed that men were in fact at a lower risk of cardiac problems after retirement, while there was no change in women.
Researchers from the University of Missouri in America, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, said that preparing for changes in lifestyle and health would lead to a better retirement for married couples.
Assistant professor Angela Curl said: "When wives retire, they may monitor their husbands' health more closely, taking them to the doctor regularly and ensuring they lead a healthy lifestyle. "Women traditionally put the needs of everyone else before themselves, a behaviour that could put their own health at risk."
Working part-time after retiring could help ease the transition into retirement and improve health in the later years of life, Ms Curl suggested. She said: "There are a lot of health benefits to staying employed ... Working just a few hours each week can facilitate better health."
Married men 'should not retire before their wives' - Telegraph
The change in husbands' attitude, laid bare in a survey of retired couples' perceptions of their own health, is down to the effect of having a good woman to care for them, experts said. Despite husbands believing that their health was in decline, the study – which also measured participants' heart condition – showed that men were in fact at a lower risk of cardiac problems after retirement, while there was no change in women.
Researchers from the University of Missouri in America, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, said that preparing for changes in lifestyle and health would lead to a better retirement for married couples.
Assistant professor Angela Curl said: "When wives retire, they may monitor their husbands' health more closely, taking them to the doctor regularly and ensuring they lead a healthy lifestyle. "Women traditionally put the needs of everyone else before themselves, a behaviour that could put their own health at risk."
Working part-time after retiring could help ease the transition into retirement and improve health in the later years of life, Ms Curl suggested. She said: "There are a lot of health benefits to staying employed ... Working just a few hours each week can facilitate better health."
Married men 'should not retire before their wives' - Telegraph
