「引退」は脳に良い?機械学習で解明した認知機能へのプラス効果と個人差~女性や高学歴・高所得、運動習慣がある人などで特に改善効果大~

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2025-12-09 京都大学

京都大学の井上浩輔教授、慶應義塾大学の佐藤豪竜講師、早稲田大学の野口晴子教授らの研究チームは、欧米19か国の50~80歳・7,432名のデータを対象に、引退が認知機能へ与える影響を機械学習で解析した。その結果、引退者は就労継続者より平均1.3語多く単語を記憶しており、引退が認知機能維持・改善に寄与することが示された。さらに効果には大きな個人差があり、女性・高学歴・高所得者、健康状態が良い人、運動習慣がある人で特に改善が大きいことが明らかになった。一方で、この差異は引退を境に健康格差が拡大する可能性を示唆する結果ともいえる。本研究は、社会的要因と個人特性を踏まえた高齢期の健康政策設計に重要な知見を提供するものであり、2025年11月24日付で International Journal of Epidemiology に掲載された。

「引退」は脳に良い?機械学習で解明した認知機能へのプラス効果と個人差~女性や高学歴・高所得、運動習慣がある人などで特に改善効果大~

<関連情報>

退職と認知機能の関連性における異質性:19カ国を対象とした機械学習分析 Heterogeneity in the association between retirement and cognitive function: a machine learning analysis across 19 countries

Koryu Sato,Haruko Noguchi,Kosuke Inoue
International Journal of Epidemiology  Published:24 November 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaf201

Abstract

Background

Rising state pension ages in many developed countries may influence cognitive aging by delaying retirement, yet the cognitive consequences of retirement likely vary across individuals and contexts. This study investigates the heterogeneous association between retirement and cognitive function.

Methods

We analyzed harmonized data from three longitudinal studies: the Health and Retirement Study, the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing, and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The dataset encompassed three waves across 19 counties from 2014 to 2019. Our study included 12 811 individuals who worked in the first wave, from whom each survey collected covariate information. We assessed retirement status among participants aged 50–80 years in the second wave and measured cognitive function using word recall tests in the third wave. The analysis employed instrumental variable causal forests estimation, utilizing state pension age as an instrument for retirement.

Results

Among 7432 individuals with retirement propensity scores between 0.1 and 0.9, 2165 (29.1%) retired during the second wave. Analysis revealed that retirees recalled 1.348 more words than workers on average. The association between retirement and cognitive function was heterogeneous; greater cognitive benefits were observed among women, individuals with higher socioeconomic status, those with robust pre-retirement health, and those who engaged in physical activity before retirement.

Conclusions

The observed heterogeneous associations suggest policymakers should consider incorporating early retirement options into the pension system, allowing individuals to make retirement decisions based on their circumstances.

医療・健康
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