Older Workers' Plans for Activities in Retirement:The Role of Opportunities, Spousal Support, and Time Perception

Retirement is a major life-course transition for which some people plan more than others. Given that planning positively affects retirement adjustment, it is important to investigate the heterogeneity in retirement planning and its antecedents. While financial preparation has been thoroughly investigated, little is known about the activities older workers plan to do in retirement. We hypothesize that older workers’ plans for retirement activities can be categorized into 3 domains: bridge employment, self-developmental leisure, and social leisure. Moreover, we expect these plans to be affected by workers’ opportunities for continuity, spousal support, and perception of time. We test these hypotheses using data from the first wave of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute Pension Panel Study (NPPS). The study consists of a sample of almost 6,800 Dutch older workers who were asked about their plans to engage in 10 different activities in retirement. Where relevant, spouses of older workers were also surveyed, providing multiactor data for these couples (N = 4,052). Our results support the classification of retirement activity plans into 3 domains. Moreover, the results of structural equation models confirm that the activities for which older workers plan are related to their opportunity structure (i.e., occupational status, number of preretirement leisure activities, number of social roles), spousal support to engage in these activities, and older workers’ perception of time (i.e., future time perspective, perceived life expectancy). Our findings can help identify older workers who might face a more difficult retirement transition, because they have fewer plans to address the various psychosocial aspects of retirement

Selective targeting of skin pathobionts and inflammation with topically applied lactobacilli

Tailored skin microbiome modulation approaches with probiotics are highly challenging. Here, we show that lactobacilli are underestimated members of the skin microbiota. We select specific strains of nomadic lactobacilli for their functional applicability on the skin and capacity to inhibit growth and inflammation by skin pathobionts. The strains are formulated as microcapsules for topical formulations and tested in patients with mild-to-moderate acne. The selected lactobacilli are able to reduce inflammatory lesions in a pilot and placebo-controlled study. Daily application for 8 weeks is associated with an in vivo temporary modulation of the microbiome, including a reduction in relative abundance of staphylococci and Cutibacterium acnes, and an increase in lactobacilli. The reduction in inflammatory lesions is still apparent 4 weeks after the topical application of the lactobacilli ended, indicating a possible additional immunomodulatory effect. This study shows that carefully selected and formulated lactobacilli are a viable therapeutic option for common acne lesions