In a new study, researchers found that regular visits to museums, art galleries, the theatre or concerts are linked to a longer life.
And the more often people engage with the arts, the lower their risk of death.
These results are important given the current focus on social prescribing schemes—a key plinth of UK government health policy—that refer people to community arts activities to improve their health and wellbeing.
The research was conducted by a team at University College London.
Previous studies have found that engaging with the arts can improve a person’s physical and mental wellbeing, including depression, dementia, chronic pain, and frailty.
But whether arts engagement can improve survival remains unclear.
In the study, the team set out to explore the association between different frequencies of arts engagement and mortality.
Their findings are based on data from more than 6,000 adults in England aged 50 years and over who were taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).
Frequency of arts activities, including going to the theatre, concerts, opera, museums, art galleries, and exhibitions, was measured at the start of the study in 2004-5.
Participants were then followed up for an average of 12 years, during which time deaths were recorded using NHS mortality data.
The researchers found that people who engaged in arts activities once or twice a year had a 14% lower risk of dying at any time during the follow-up period than those who never engaged.
People who engaged in arts activities more frequently (every few months or more) had a 31% lower risk of dying.
This protective association was largely explained by differences in cognition (thinking and understanding), mental health, and physical activity levels among those who did and did not engage in the arts.
But results were maintained independent of these and other factors such as mobility problems, deprivation, wealth, and retirement.
The team says everyone should have the chance to participate in cultural activities.
They point out that the very people who have the most to gain from participating in the arts, such as the poorest and those with depression or loneliness, are least likely to do so.
The lead author of the study is Daisy Fancourt.
The study is published in the BMJ.
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