Alcohol problems may start when work ends.

Recent retirees report having more alcohol-related problems than they did before leaving the workforce, an Ohio State University study shows. Both men and women stated that, since retirement, they were more likely to drink to excess, have trouble in their family because of alcohol use, and drink to "handle things."

"This is the first study to show that retirement is associated with increased problems with alcohol," explains Virginia Richardson, professor of social work. "The findings suggest that retirement may be more stressful, especially during the first six months, than many people assumed."

The research followed 222 men and women from just before retirement to one year after and found that several other negative symptoms worsened in the first six months post-work. New retirees reported more health difficulties, physical evidence of anxiety such as dizziness and headaches, and signs of depression such as difficulty getting up in the morning.

The good news is that many of these negative symptoms lessened somewhat by the end of the first...