This project investigates how working conditions over the life course influence the risk of developing dementia later in life. Although research has increasingly highlighted the importance of workplace factors for long-term cognitive health, there is still limited knowledge about how job exposures, sickness absence, and disability pension relate to dementia risk in the general population.

Using Swedish nationwide register data, the project will follow approximately 1.5 million individuals aged 62 and older who left the labour market between 2005 and 2022. By linking detailed information on occupational exposures, such as psychosocial demands, physical workload, and chemical exposures, with records of sickness absence and disability pension, the study will examine how these factors contribute to dementia risk and whether patterns of work-related health problems help explain these associations. The project will also identify different trajectories of sickness absence and disability pension and assess how these patterns are related to later cognitive decline.

With strong expertise in occupational epidemiology, work and health, and cognitive ageing, the research team is well positioned to address these questions. The results will inform policies related to work environment, social insurance, and dementia prevention, and contribute to developing more sustainable working lives in an ageing population.