Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108debate, it is useful to know the extent to which older individuals experience heath conditions that may affect their work activity. Figure 1-13 presents 2002 data for people ages 55 to 64, according to work status and health limitations. Twenty percent of men and 25 percent of women in this age group reported a health problem that limited their ability to work. Included in this group, about 5 percent of each sex worked despite a work-limiting health problem. Of those ages 55 to 64 who had work- limiting health problems, 48 percent of the men and 52 percent of the women reported at least one ADL or IADL limitation, while the others reported no such limitations. HRS data from 1992 to 1996 revealed that more than one-half of men and one-third of women who leave the labor force before reaching the Social Security early retirement age of 62 reported that health limited their capacity to IADL limitation; of them, 4.2 percent work while 9 percent do not work. For women, 15.6 percent report a functional limitation; of them, 3.8 per- cent work while 11.8 percent do not work. Figure 1-12 presents percentages of HRS respon- dents who reported in 2002 that they had one or more ADL limitations, received help with these activities, or used assistive devices. As with IADL limitations, for both men and women, the rates of having at least one ADL limitation, receiving help with ADLs, and using an assistive device rose with age. Without exception, the percentages were higher for women than for men. Health and Work As average life expectancy lengthens and our population ages, there is heightened debate about raising retirement ages and enabling individuals to work longer. To help inform this Men Women No Health Limitation, Working No Health Limitation, Not Working Health Limitation, Not Working Health Limitation, Working 62.7% 50.3% 4.5% 5.3% 20.0% 24.4% 15.9% 16.9% FIG. 1-13 health limitations and work status, ages 55-64: 2002 work. One study looked at three causes of workforce disability—cigarette smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity—between 1992 and 1998 (Richardson et al. 2003). Cigarette smoking and a sedentary lifestyle had a large impact on both the incidence of workforce disability and death. The major health problems reported by HRS respondents age 55 and older who were working for pay in 2002 were arthritis and hypertension. Forty-seven percent of all workers reported having arthritis, and 44 percent reported having a hypertensive condition. Ten percent or more of the working respondents reported having heart conditions, diabetes, psychological problems, or cancer (Figure 1-16, page 38). By far, the largest reported causes of work limitation among people ages 55 to 64 who were not working were CH APTER 1 35