Association between Occupational Change Trajectories and Mental Health: Results from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging

Objectives: This study was to longitudinally investigate the association between occupational change trajectories and mental health in the Korean population aged 45 years and older from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Methods: After excluding missing values, the data of 6,224 participants from the first to eighth waves of the KLoSA were analyzed using t-test, Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Group-based Trajectory Model (GBTM) from 1-5th KLoSA and Time-Lagged Generalized estimating equation (GEE) model from 5-8th KLoSA to analyze the association between occupational change trajectories and mental health in the Korean population aged 45 years and older. Results: An analysis of the association between occupational change trajectories and mental health demonstrated that, among all age group, the "sustained in unemployment" group had a worse MMSE and CESD score compared to "sustained WC" group. unlike the under-54 age group, those aged = 55 years demonstrated reductions in the MMSE and CESD scores in the sustained unemployment and the changed working condition from Standard BC to Unemployment groups, whereas those who underwent a change from the Standard WC to unemployment group only demonstrated a reduction in MMSE scores. Conclusions: There was a close relationship between occupational change trajectories and mental health. Therefore, this study can serve as the foundation for policies and institutional measures to manage the deteriorate mental health in the late middle-aged and older population.