Regularly taking part in arts activities such as reading, listening to music or visiting a gallery or museum may slow the pace of biological ageing, suggests a new study
The study, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, looked at survey response and blood test data from 3,556 adults in the UK. Researchers compared participants’ arts and cultural engagement with chemical changes to DNA that influence biological ageing without altering the genetic code.
The research team found that those who engaged in arts and cultural activities more frequently, and who engaged in a wider diversity of these activities, appeared to have a slower pace of ageing and a younger biological age, as suggested by changes to DNA.
The apparent effects were comparable to those seen for exercise. For instance, people who did an arts activity at least once a week seemed to age 4% more slowly than those who rarely engaged with arts. This was the same as those who exercised at least once a week compared to those who did no exercise.
The links were stronger for middle-aged and older adults aged 40 or above and remained after accounting for factors that might skew the results such as BMI, smoking status, education level and income.
Lead author Professor Daisy Fancourt (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: “These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level. They provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognised as a health-promoting behaviour in a similar way to exercise.
“Our study also suggests that engaging in a variety of arts activities may be helpful. This may be because each activity has different ‘ingredients’ that help health, such as physical, cognitive, emotional or social stimulation.”
Senior author Dr Feifei Bu (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: “Our study provides the first evidence that arts and cultural engagement is linked to a slower pace of biological ageing. This builds on a growing body of evidence about the health impact of the arts, with arts activities being shown to reduce stress, lower inflammation and improve cardiovascular disease risk, just as exercise is known to do.”
The researchers used data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative sample whose participants’ blood samples were analysed to estimate biological age and pace of ageing.
