Culture vultures who regularly take part in arts activities—such as listening to music, visiting a museum, or reading—may be slowing the pace of their biological aging, according to a new study.
Researchers from University College London looked at blood test data and survey responses from over 3,500 adults in the UK.
The team compared their engagement in arts and cultural activities with chemical changes to DNA that influence biological aging without altering the genetic code.
The findings, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, showed that those who chose these activities more frequently, and who engaged in a wider diversity of such events, appeared to have a slower pace of aging and a younger biological age, as suggested by changes to their DNA.
The effects were comparable to those seen for exercise, according to the UCL team.
For example, people who did an arts activity at least once a week seemed to age 4% more slowly than those who rarely engaged with arts.
That 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 over 40—and remained true after accounting for factors that might skew the results such as body mass index (BMI), smoking, education level, and income.
“These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level,” said study lead author Professor Daisy Fancourt.
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“They provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognized as a health-promoting behavior in a similar way to exercise,” she explained in a College media release.
“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 said their study provides the first evidence that arts engagement is linked to a slower pace of biological aging.
“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 research team used data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative sample whose participants’ blood samples were analyzed to estimate biological age and pace of aging.
That was done using seven epigenetic clocks—tests that look at age-related DNA changes. Each of the seven clocks measured methylation at different sites on the genome.
The two newest clocks, DunedinPoAm and DunedinPACE, estimate the pace of aging, with a faster aging score associated with a higher risk of age-related diseases. Both frequency and diversity of arts engagement and physical activity were found to be linked to slower aging.
For the DunedinPACE clock, doing an arts activity at least three times a year was linked to aging 2% more slowly, monthly engagement was linked to 3% slower aging, and weekly activity to a 4% slower aging rate, compared to those who engaged with arts less than three times a year.
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“This difference in pace of aging is comparable to that found in previous studies between current smokers and ex-smokers.”
In another test, PhenoAge, which estimates biological age, people who engaged in arts and cultural activities at least weekly were a year younger on average compared to those who rarely engaged, which beats out even exercise.
People who did exercise at least weekly were just over half a year younger on average.
Professor Fancourt, who is a UNESCO Chair in Arts & Global Health and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health at the College, has been investigating links between arts and health for over a decade.
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