Younger baby boomers report poorer overall health

Researchers wonder if those nearing retirement are expecting too much in the way of good health.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. March 26, 2007.

Washington -- Could younger baby boomers be approaching retirement in poorer health than their immediate predecessors?

A new report by the National Bureau of Economic Research involving National Institute on Aging survey data leads to the conclusion that they are. The NBER is a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Mass.

According to this document, Americans in their early to mid-50s thought their health was worse, their pain was greater and their everyday physical tasks were more trouble to complete than had their older peers when they responded to the same questions at the same age. These findings add to a growing body of research -- some conflicting -- on boomers' health. This demographic group concerns many in the health care community because of fears that large numbers of older people in poor health will flood doctors' offices and overwhelm the system.

"There is a mix of evidence," said Richard Suzman, PhD, director of the NIA's behavioral and social research program, about what the future might hold. Some indicators point to a decline in disability among those age 65 and older since 1982, he said. "I think it's a balance of forces, and my prediction would be for [that] decline to continue. But we'll see."

Others, though, suggest that this trend may taper off or be reversed by increases in obesity and the major impact it has on heart disease and other ills, he added. The NBER report, "Cross-Cohort Differences in Health on the Verge of Retirement," offers evidence in support of this view. It was first released as a working paper in 2006 and is now slated for publication this year as a book chapter.