Association of Perceived Job Insecurity With Subsequent Memory Function and Decline Among Adults 55 Years or Older in England and the US, 2006 to 2016

IMPORTANCE: Intensified global economic competition and recent financial crises, including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, have contributed to uncertainty about job security. However, little is known about the association of perceived job insecurity with memory function and decline among older adults. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between perceived job insecurity and subsequent memory function and rate of memory decline among older adults in the US and England. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This 10-year prospective population-based cohort study used data from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) collected from 2006 to 2016. Participants included 9538 adults 55 years or older. Data were analyzed from August 1 to 31, 2021. EXPOSURES: Perceived job insecurity (yes vs no) at baseline. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Episodic memory z scores at baseline and rate of decline during the follow-up. RESULTS: Among the 9538 study participants, the mean (SD) age at baseline was 60.97 (6.06) years, and 4981 (52.22%) were women. A total of 2320 participants (24.32%) reported job insecurity at baseline (1088 of 3949 [27.55%] in England and 1232 of 5589 [22.04%] in the US). Perceived job insecurity after 55 years of age was associated with lower baseline memory z scores in the fully adjusted model (β = −0.04 [95% CI, −0.08 to −0.01]) but not with rate of memory decline (β = 0.01 [95% CI, −0.01 to 0.01]). The association appeared to be stronger in the US than in England (job insecurity × US, β = −0.05 [95% CI, −0.11 to 0.02]), but the estimate was imprecise, potentially owing to low statistical power. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings of this cohort study suggest that exposure to job insecurity in middle to late life was associated with worse memory function among older adults in the US and England. This association may vary across socioeconomic and social welfare contexts, although future studies with large samples from diverse socioeconomic settings are warranted.