[What do we know about participation in cultural activities and health?]

Knowledge of the association between health status and lifestyle factors, such as food habits, smoking and physical activity, is abundant. Other lifestyle factors, such as participation in cultural activities, have attained less attention.

The article is based on studies of the literature. Reference lists in key articles have been used as well as references given by research colleagues.

The survey shows an association between participation in cultural activities, cultural experiences and health status, also when measured by differing methods. Further population studies, longitudinal studies and controlled studies are needed in order to expand our knowledge of the relationship between participation in cultural activities and health status. There is a need for multidisciplinary cooperation and increased use of combined quantitative and qualitative methods.