Bonn, Germany - Retirement once meant imminent death in many cases. People stopped working at age 65 and some dropped dead a few months later.

"This was a much greater problem in former times," remarked Uwe Kleinemas, director of the Centre for the Cultures of Ageing at the University of Bonn. Thanks to improved working conditions, people today were no longer so physically exhausted at the end of their working lives.

Kleinemas noted a wholly different problem faced by many older people, however: "They want to continue working but are not permitted to do so." This, too, can be hazardous to health.

Retirement per se is not a risk factor. According to a study by the Berlin-based German Centre of Gerontology (DZA), retirees are neither ill more often nor have a higher mortality rate - as long as they retired between the ages of 60 and 65, the accepted norm.

Retiring at age 50, or becoming unemployed near the end of one's working life, is a different matter, however. The DZA experts said studies showed that "early and involuntary retirement is harmful to physical and mental health."

There are various explanations for this. "Society expects people to do certain things at certain ages," pointed out Clemens Tesch-Roemer, the DZA's director. And people are expected to retire at age 65, not 50.

Retirement could be viewed in two different ways: as liberation from work but also as the loss of contacts, structured days and duties, Tesch-Roemer said. Someone who views the end of their working life as a loss, with the negative outweighing the positive, is more likely to develop health problems such as a depressive emotional response, he said.

Retirement can also be a shock to people who retire as planned at age 65, but without giving much thought to retirement, noted Arthur Guenthner, head physician at the Eusserthal Drug Rehabilitation Clinic in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

"They haven't prepared adequately and then find themselves at loose ends," he said. "For them, coping with the new situation is very difficult."

Guenthner said there are other possible explanations for increased health problems during retirement, such as not having noticed signs of illness amid the demands of performing one's job.

"When people are retired, they have more time to pay attention to such things," he said, adding, "Perception is delayed."

If physical complaints accompany feelings of emptiness and uselessness, a vicious circle can result, Kleinemas warned. "People focus on their ailments and constantly sit in doctors' offices because they've got nothing else to do," he said.

What can people do to stay healthy during retirement? Tesch-Roemer had three main tips: Prepare for retirement beforehand, be health-conscious and learn something new.

"Mental stimulation, for example through further education and training, is very important during retirement," he said. (dpa)