NEA study finds the arts are good for senior health
Older adults who create art and attend arts events have better health outcomes than adults who do neither is one of the conclusions in a new report published by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Older adults who create art and attend arts events have better health outcomes than adults who do neither is one of the conclusions in a new report published by the National Endowment for the Arts. “Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Engage in the Arts” presents the first detailed look at arts participation habits, attitudes toward the arts, and related health characteristics of adults aged 55 and older. The study is based on results from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), conducted by the University of Michigan with primary support from the National Institute on Aging within the National Institutes of Health.
“Previous studies have found a better health profile for older adults who participate in the arts, compared with those who do not, but much of that research is limited to the study of creating art, or taking part in arts classes or lessons,” said NEA Research & Analysis Director Sunil Iyengar. “This report, by contrast, looks at older adults who either create art or attend arts events, do both, or do neither, and health differences across these groups. The findings, while purely descriptive, will help future researchers to probe the arts-health relationship further.”
The HRS is a nationally representative, 20+ years study that has tracked the health profiles of older adults through surveys and other measurement tools. In 2014, HRS investigators added survey questions about older adults’ involvement in arts and cultural activities over the past year. The new questions allow study of the relationship between engaging in the arts—as creators or observers—and selected health outcomes.
The study concluded that older adults who both created art and attended arts events reported higher cognitive functioning and lower rates of both hypertension and limitations to their physical functioning than did adults who neither created nor attended art.
Among those who both created and attended, cognitive functioning scores were seven-fold higher than for adults who did neither type of arts activity.
The report examined creating art, attending arts events, doing both, and doing neither, among adults over 55 years of age, and found that 84 percent of these adults reported either creating art or attending arts events.
Among this group, 64 percent created art of their own, 68.7 percent attended arts events, and 48.6 percent both created and attended.
When asked about attitudes toward the arts 63.8 percent stated that the arts are important, and 54.9 percent said the arts help them to be active and engaged.