BACKGROUND: Psychosocial work characteristics may predict cognitive functioning after retirement. However, little research has explored specific cognitive domains associated with psychosocial work environments. Our study tested whether exposure to job demands, job control and their combination during working life predicted post-retirement performance on eight cognitive tests. METHODS: We used data from French GAZEL cohort members who had undergone post-retirement cognitive testing (n=2149). Psychosocial job characteristics were measured on average for 4 years before retirement using Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire (job demands, job control and demand-control combinations). We tested associations between these exposures and post-retirement performance on tests for executive function, visual-motor speed, psychomotor speed, verbal memory, and verbal fluency using ordinary least squares regression. RESULTS: Low job control during working life was negatively associated with executive function, psychomotor speed, phonemic fluency and semantic fluency after retirement (p's<0.05), even after adjustment for demographics, socioeconomic status, health and social behaviours and vascular risk factors. Both passive (low-demand, low-control) and high-strain (high-demand, low-control) jobs were associated with lower scores on phonemic and semantic fluency when compared to low-strain (low-demand, high-control) jobs. CONCLUSIONS: Low job control, in combination with both high and low-job demands, is associated with post-retirement deficits in some, but not all, cognitive domains. In addition to work stress, associations between passive work and subsequent cognitive function may implicate lack of cognitive engagement at work as a risk factor for future cognitive difficulties.

• MeSH
• Retirement MeSH
• Cognition MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction psychology   MeSH
• Cohort Studies MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Occupational Diseases psychology   MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Work psychology   MeSH
• Workplace psychology   MeSH
• Workload psychology   MeSH
• Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
• Stress, Psychological MeSH
• Regression Analysis MeSH
• Risk Factors MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Social Class MeSH
• Aging psychology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• France MeSH

BACKGROUND: Psychological distress among medical students is commonly observed during medical education and is generally related to poor academic self-perception. We evaluated the role of peer social support at medical schools in the association between psychological distress and academic self-perception. METHODS: An online survey was conducted in a medical degree program for 138 international students educated in English in the Czech Republic. The Medical Student Well-Being Index was used to define the students' psychological distress. Perceived peer social support was investigated with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Poor academic self-perception was defined as the lowest 30% of a subscale score of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure. Analyses evaluated the presence of additive interactions between psychological distress and peer social support on poor academic self-perception, adjusted for possible confounders. RESULTS: Both psychological distress and low peer social support were negatively associated with poor academic self-perception, adjusted for local language proficiency and social support from family. Students with psychological distress and low peer social support had an odds ratio of 11.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1-56.6) for poor academic self-perception as compared with those without distress who had high peer social support. The presence of an additive interaction was confirmed in that the joint association was four times as large as what would have been expected to be on summing the individual risks of psychological distress and low peer social support (synergy index = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.3-14.9). CONCLUSIONS: Psychological distress and low peer social support may synergistically increase the probability of poor academic self-perception among international medical students. Promoting peer social relationships at medical school may interrupt the vicious cycle of psychological distress and poor academic performance.

• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Risk Assessment MeSH
• Internationality MeSH
• Confidence Intervals MeSH
• Clinical Competence * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Multilingualism MeSH
• Odds Ratio MeSH
• Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
• Stress, Psychological diagnosis   epidemiology   MeSH
• Self Concept * MeSH
• Schools, Medical MeSH
• Social Support * MeSH
• Students, Medical psychology   MeSH
• Education, Medical, Undergraduate methods   MeSH
• Peer Group * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH