The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Effects of retirement on chronic disease

    An international group of researchers looked for changes in the risk of chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, and fatigue.

    First, the details.

    • 11,246 men and 2,858 women in the GAZEL study (employees of the French national gas and electricity company) participated in this research.
    • Respiratory disease, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, mental fatigue, and physical fatigue, were measured annually by self-report over the 15 years.
    • Depressive symptoms were measured at 4 time points.

    And, the results.

    • Retirement was associated with a substantial decrease in the prevalence of mental fatigue and physical fatigue.
    • A major decrease was also observed in depressive symptoms.
    • The decrease in fatigue around retirement was more pronounced among people with a chronic disease before retirement.
    • The cumulative prevalence of chronic disease increased with age, with no break in the trend around the time of retirement.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded; “retirement did not change the risk of major chronic diseases but was associated with a substantial reduction in mental and physical fatigue and depressive symptoms, particularly among people with chronic diseases.”

    And, retirees start to benefit about 2 years before retirement.

    1/24/11 19:36 JR

    Leave a Comment

    You must be logged in to post a comment.