The rapid aging process of the Brazilian population is accompanied by a similar change in the composition of the country's work force. The objective of this study is to determine health differentials in the elderly according to their insertion in the work market, after considering the influence of socio-demographic factors. This study included 2,886 males ³ 65 years residing in ten Brazilian metropolitan areas and included in the National Household Survey conducted by the National Institute of Geography and Statistics, or National Census Bureau (IBGE) in 1998. The analysis included the chi-square and odds ratios estimated by multiple logistic regression. More than a fourth of the elderly worked. Among the formally retired elderly, those who still worked were younger seniors, those with more schooling, and those with higher per capita family income; they reported fewer chronic diseases and presented less difficulty in performing their activities of daily living, but did not show any differences in relation to health services utilization. According to our results, health and especially indicators of autonomy and physical mobility are independent predictive factors for the elderly to remain active.
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