Many Americans choose early retirement and claim Social Security assoon as possible.

Social Security eligibility begins at age 62, and approximately31% of all Americans begin claiming Social Security in their firstmonth of eligibility, with men and women doing so at similarrates.

A new National Bureau of Economic Researchpaper examines whether age 62 is associated with a changein aggregate mortality.

Related: 10 questions to ask yourself before earlyretirement

The paper looks at mortality data from the National Center forHealth Statistics’ Multiple Cause of Death that covers the entireU.S. population and includes exact dates of birth and death, andfinds a “robust” 2% increase in male mortality immediately afterage 62.

According to the paper, the change in female mortality issmaller and “imprecisely estimated.”

The paper’s analysis then suggests that the increase in malemortality is connected to retirement from the labor force andassociated lifestyle changes.

“Claiming Social Security is not an isolated event; many otherchanges commonly occur at the same time,” the paper states.

The paper identifies three lifestyle changes in particular thatcan also occur at the time of claiming Social Security.

First, the paper notes that individuals frequently stop workingor reduce work levels at this time. Looking at Health andRetirement Study data, the paper finds that the increase inclaiming Social Security leads to an immediate increase inretirement. According to the paper, approximately one-tenth ofmales retire from the labor force in the month they turn 62.

Second, according to the paper, health insurance status canchange as – upon stopping employment – employer-sponsored healthinsurance ceases or is more expensive under continuing-coveragemandates. And, as the paper notes, Medicare is unavailable untilage 65.

Third, income can change at age 62 due to the arrival of SocialSecurity income and the reduction in earnings.

“Each change potentially has detrimental health consequences,”the paper states.

Those claiming Social Security upon reaching 62 also differ fromlater claimants in terms of their socioeconomic and healthcharacteristics, according to the paper.

“Those claiming at 62 are more likely to report being in poorhealth and retiring due to health-related reasons,” the paperstates. “They are more likely to report having worked in a job thatrequired physical activity, and less likely to have had a jobinvolving stress much of the time.”

The paper notes that these characteristics may limit thegeneralizability of its findings to the rest of the population.

However, the paper also notes that “age-62 claimants representapproximately one-third of the U.S. population and a higherfraction of Social-Security-covered workers, so understanding theirimmediate health effects is important in its own right.”