When you are old, can you really continue to work healthily?

Recently, the topics of "delayed retirement" and "low fertility" have frequently appeared on hot searches, triggering public opinion. The global population is currently ageing. The number and proportion of older people in almost every country in the world is increasing. The seventh population census shows that the mainland population is aging, and the delay in retirement is the adjustment of the mainland's policy plan to cope with the social phenomenon of population aging. In the 14th Five-Year Plan, it is clearly mentioned that it is necessary to "implement a gradual extension of the statutory retirement age", and it is unknown how the specific policy will be introduced; But for each of us ordinary people, how to face work and life healthily in the stage of old age, and how can the whole society help everyone achieve "old age and do something"?

Experts in this issue:

Q: What changes do people have in their bodies as they enter old age? How do these changes affect the ability to work?

Li Jing: Affected by the overall internal and external environment, people will definitely have some physiological changes in old age. Aging is a natural phenomenon and an objective law, but to a small extent, due to the individual's genetic background, living and working environment, the aging rate will also be different.

Generally, around the age of 50, there may be a decline in perception, which is intuitively a visual change. The cornea of the elderly gradually thickens, and the lens gradually becomes cloudy, resulting in blurred vision. The perception of light and shade is reduced, the grasp of bright colors will also be reduced, and people will have a dazzling situation. People who are originally myopic will have reduced near and far vision in old age.

In addition, hearing will also decrease, high-frequency sounds cannot be heard, and neurological deafness occurs. There is also a significant decrease in smell, taste, metabolic speed, touch, etc. Together, these factors can affect the social skills of older people, which can further affect their mood.

Muscle tissue has the same problem, the normal muscles of the human body are probably at their peak around the age of 35, and the muscle mass gradually decreases with age. There is a very critical disease in geriatric medicine, which is sarcopenia. If the muscle mass is large, the protective force is strong, and if the muscle declines, it will be easy to fall during walking. Once a fall, accompanied by osteoporosis, increased bone fragility can cause fractures, seriously affect body functions, and even threaten life.

In old age, the deterioration of nervous system function will cause slow response to the outside world, and the ability to think and solve problems, as well as the ability to execute, will be weakened, all of which may affect work. In addition, the conditions of the internal medicine system are also unstable, and there are often common diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and arthrosis.

Q: On an individual level, in the face of delayed retirement, what physical examination or daily health monitoring should we do to ensure that the physical state can always withstand the pressure of work? What indicators in the physical examination program are abnormal, which means that you are not suitable for continued work?

Li Jing: In addition to some basic physical examination items such as blood routine, blood sugar, blood lipids, liver and kidney function, thyroid function, bone density and muscle mass can be checked. We all know that as we get older, some problems will come out, so before the age of 50, if you haven't done a more complete screening, it's best to do it once.

Another is the ultrasound of the carotid artery. Now it is more convenient to do this, which can reflect the state of our blood vessels throughout the body, including blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids.

It is recommended that everyone try to balance their mentality and do not have too strong psychological emotions, because in addition to physiological factors, psychological factors will also affect our health. Peace of mind and comfortable mood are more conducive to maintaining a good state of life and improving the quality of life.

Like some vascular lesions, if there was already a very serious high blood sugar or high blood pressure at that time, then whether it was a work with high physical exertion or a work with high mental exertion, it was actually not suitable. Because this type of work increases the heart rate and the heart consumes oxygen, which can induce cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases. At the same time, other factors such as life status should be considered to determine whether the current state is suitable for continuing to work.

Q: Recently, it was reported that a 60-year-old express delivery employee died suddenly while working overtime in the middle of the night, is it possible that elderly office workers have a higher risk of disease?

Li Jing: Men and women have different body structures, and the levels of hormones in the body are also different. Men after the age of 40 belong to the high incidence of cardiovascular disease, and women will have a later age of onset due to estrogen protection. Many men have exposure to tobacco and alcohol, irregular life, high-intensity physical or mental work, and high psychological pressure, which are among the causes of cardiovascular disease.

Now there are many young people, because the awareness is not high enough, or because of work reasons can not pay too much attention to their own health, such as stress, irregular work and rest, etc., such people will be more likely to produce the body's disease resistance decline, immunity decline, poor adaptation to microorganisms and other problems, more likely to appear infectious diseases, immune abnormalities, or heart disease, cerebrovascular disease aggravation. Therefore, I also hope that everyone can pay attention to their own health, find problems as soon as possible, and intervene as soon as possible, so that the process of the disease can be delayed, the physical function can be better maintained, and the ability to work in the future will be higher.

When we talk about the health and work of the elderly, we need to pay attention not only to the physical aspects, but also to the social participation and psychological state of the elderly. In this regard, perhaps we can learn some lessons from the practice of neighboring Japan, which entered an aging society before China.

Q: At what age do office workers in Japan typically retire? How long will I work in old age? What do you typically do? Will the work of employees change in old age?

Jiang Jianqiang: In 2013, Japan promulgated the Employment Stability Law for the Elderly, which stipulates that enterprises have the obligation to ensure continued employment, so that employees who are willing to work can work until the age of 65. This law will be officially implemented in April 2025, which means that Japan will officially introduce a 65-year-old retirement system in 2025. In April 2021, the Japanese government amended the law to require companies to secure employment opportunities for workers from 65 to 70 years old. At present, this law has no mandatory effect, it is a "duty to work" stage, and only encourages companies and employees to delay the retirement age. It can be predicted that in the near future, 70 years old will become the retirement age in Japanese society. The amendment also emphasizes that even at the age of 70, companies are obliged to implement a system of continued employment.

Japanese companies generally have three retirement plans to choose from, the first is to directly delay the retirement age; The second is to establish a re-employment system to ensure that those employees who wish to work until the age of 70; The third is the abolition of the retirement system. Most Japanese companies have opted for the second option.

After employees are rehired, they will generally continue to work in the company in their original positions, but the original management level will be cancelled and their salaries will be significantly reduced. Of course, retirees can also find other ways to find companies to re-enter on their own. According to media reports, among the caregivers in a nursing home with about 30 employees, there are about 10 people aged 55-65, 8 people over 65 years old, 4 people over 70 years old, and the oldest is 84 years old. The situation of "aging for old age" is quite common in Japan.

Q: What are the general reasons for elderly people in Japan to work?

Jiang Jianqiang: There are two main reasons. One is because the average life expectancy of the Japanese is high, with an average life expectancy of 87.57 years for women and 81.47 years for men in 2021. (Editor's note: According to the 2021 World Health Statistics report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the overall life expectancy in the mainland in 2019 was 77.4 years, 74.7 years for men and 80.5 years for women) At the same time, the healthy life expectancy of the Japanese is also very long, and many elderly people are full of vitality and idle after retirement. The second is the spread of uneasy emotions in old age. Japan's Financial Services Agency has issued a report that if a Japanese retired couple, men aged 65 and above, women aged 60 and above, if only rely on pensions, there will be a monthly gap of 50,000 yen, if they live 30 years after retirement, the gap is 20 million yen (about 1.31 million yuan). The pensions received by the elderly in Japan are as much as 200,000 yen (about 10,000 yuan), and as little as 70,000 yen or 80,000 yen (about 3,500-4,000 yuan), and the old age of relying only on pensions is very stressful. Of course, not wanting to be completely disconnected from society, Japanese culture respecting craftsmanship, and liking to work are all factors that factors why Japanese people live to work until they are old.

Editor's note: The so-called "healthy life" refers to the life expectancy that can be lived healthily through daily life without nursing care. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare once every three years surveyed about 200,000 households nationwide and published valuations.

Q: Recently, the news that "a 58-year-old man who graduated from Tsinghua University cannot find a job with a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan" has caused heated discussions on the Internet, considering the physical and mental state of the elderly, what efforts has the Japanese government made to promote employment for the elderly?

Jiang Jianqiang: In 2018, the Japanese government formulated the "Outline of Social Countermeasures for Aging", which divides the elderly into those in the early stage (70-80 years old) and the late elderly (80-90 years old). This division is actually a redefinition of the elderly, which is meaningful. At the same time, in order to promote the work of the elderly who desire to work, the option of postponing the receipt of the pension is allowed in exchange for a proportional increase in the monthly amount. In addition, the Japanese government has taken measures to provide certain subsidies to enterprises that employ elderly workers. In addition, the Japanese government has also formulated the "Dementia Policy Promotion Outline" to encourage scientific research and research related to dementia, and hope that the elderly will maintain their original living and working conditions and prevent or delay the occurrence of dementia. Japanese studies have shown that work is the best way to prevent dementia.

With the decline in fertility, delaying retirement has become an important measure to cope with the aging of the population, while also providing more choices and opportunities for the elderly. Retirement does not mean the end of life, I believe that with the attention and efforts of the whole society, the elderly can live a healthier, more fulfilling and happier life.