Leah Abrams

Biographic Data

ID3926357
NAMELeah Abrams
GIVEN NAMESLeah
FAMILY NAMEAbrams
SIGNATUREABRAMS L
AFFILIATIONSTufts University
ORCID0000-0002-8766-0903
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS10
TOTAL CITATIONS22
WORKS AS AUTHOR10
WORKS AS EDITOR0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2019
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2025
H-INDEX2

  • Who works while sick and who enjoys the golden years? Changing disparities in time spent in health and work after age 50 in the United States

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Christian Dudel et al.ARTICLEWork Aging and Retirement2025References: 4

    While full retirement age in the United States is increasing, longevity improvements have stagnated, Americans with low educational attainment have not experienced delayed health impairments, and there remain substantial racial disparities in morbidity and mortality. Using the Health and Retirement Study, we ran discrete-time multistate models to examine how these trends together shape educational and racial/ethnic differences in expected time sp…

  • Working Through It

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Y S Zhang et al.ARTICLEJournal of Aging and Health2024References: 27

    ObjectivesTo examine lifetime experiences of employment discrimination and their association with Black older adults' employment status and well-being.MethodsWe use data from the Health and Retirement Study's leave-behind questionnaire to characterize lifetime experiences of being unfairly fired, not hired, or not promoted among Black older adults ( N = 2331) and test associations with labor force status at age 62, job satisfaction among those wo…

  • Quantifying the Contribution of Work Characteristics to Educational Disparities in Health-Induced Work Limitations

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Lisa F Berkman et al.ARTICLEThe Journals of Gerontology…2023References: 6

    Work environments appear to play an important role in educational disparities in mid- to late-life disability

  • The role of physical and cognitive/emotional functioning in the associations between common health conditions and working

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Kevin G Friedman et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2023References: 18

  • Work at age 62

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Philippa J Clarke et al.ARTICLEAgeing and Society2022References: 30

    Much remains unknown about how the 2008 Great Recession, coupled with the ageing baby-boomer cohort, have shaped retirement expectations and realised retirement timing across diverse groups of older Americans. Using the Health and Retirement Study (1992–2016), we compared expectations about full-time work at age 62 (reported at ages 51–61) with realised labour force status at age 62. Of the 12,049 respondents, 34 per cent reported no chance of wo…

  • Skilled Nursing Facilities Modify the Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Hospital Readmissions but Not Health Outcomes Among Older Adults

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Geoffrey J HoffmanARTICLEJournal of Aging and Health2021References: 4

    Objectives: Despite detrimental effects of depressive symptoms on self-care and health, hospital discharge practices and the benefits of different discharge settings are poorly understood in the context of depression. Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised 23,485 hospitalizations from Medicare claims linked to the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2014). Results: Respondents with depressive symptoms were no more likely to be referred …

  • Job Transitions and Mental Health Outcomes Among U.S. Adults Aged 55 and Older During the Covid-19 Pandemic

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Jessica Finlay et al.ARTICLEThe Journals of Gerontology…2021Cited by: 5References: 5

    COVID-19-related job transitions are detrimental to mental health, even when they might keep workers safe. These results enhance our understanding of the potentially long-term mental health effects of social and economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need for economic and mental health support for aging Americans

  • Unmet Expectations About Work at Age 62 and Depressive Symptoms

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Philippa J Clarke et al.ARTICLEThe Journals of Gerontology…2021Cited by: 2References: 5

    Unlike working longer than expected, unexpectedly not working at age 62 was associated with depressive symptoms, even after accounting for health declines. Public and employer policies should assist workers in remaining in the labor force as long as planned and offer mental health supports for unexpected work exits

  • Measuring More Than Exposure

    Open AccessLauren Brown, Leah Abrams et al.ARTICLEInnovation in Aging2020Cited by: 15References: 12

    The relationship between race, chronic stress exposure, and mental health is mediated by stress appraisal. Stress appraisal provides insight on important pathways contributing to black-white mental health disparities in older adulthood

  • Changes in depressive symptoms over age among older Americans

    Open AccessLeah Abrams, Neil K MehtaARTICLESSM - Population Health2019

    Despite concerns about recent trends in the health and functioning of older Americans, little is known about dynamics of depression among recent cohorts of U.S. older adults and how these dynamics differ across sociodemographic groups. This study examined sociodemographic differences in mid- and late-life depressive symptoms over age, as well as changes over time. Using nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study (1994-201…