Retirement and Depression in Mexican Older Adults: Effect Modifiers in a Cohort Based on the Study on AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE), 2002–2010

World population is experiencing a demographic transition, which introduces changes in the workforce structure, such as increasing retirement. At the same time, retirement produces several life-style modifications that significantly influence well-being and can lead to depression. Thereby, this study aimed to estimate the association between retirement and depression incidence in Mexican older adults from a population-based cohort and to evaluate its potential effect modifiers. The cohort was assembled using SAGE-Mexico waves 0 and 1 (baseline and follow-up, respectively), and included individuals who at wave 0 were 53+ years and not depressed, and those who had a follow-up. Retirement was assessed in wave 0 by creating three categories: working; retired; and can’t retire; covariates were also ascertained in wave 0. Incidence of depression was measured in wave 1 by means of self-report of a medical diagnosis of depression and of the use of an algorithm based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Log-binomial regression models were used to estimate risk ratios (RR) adjusted for all the covariates; additionally, interaction terms were constructed to explore a potential effect modification given by marital status, income quintile, health insurance tenure and multimorbidity. The analytic sample consisted of 820 participants; the 8-year depression incidence was 12.20%; and being retired increased the risk of depression in those older adults who did not have a permanent partner (RR: 4.52; CI 95% 1.30–15.76). The results obtained in this study indicate that the association between retirement and depression in Mexican older adults depends on the context surrounding the retirement transition.