Cultural engagement and cognitive reserve: museum attendance and dementia incidence over a 10-year period

2018/07/20 by Daisy Fancourt, Andrew Steptoe, Dorina Cadar · 100 citations
Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Aesthetics #Art #Attendance #Cognition #Cognitive impairment #Cognitive reserve #Dementia #Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research #Demography #Economic growth #Economics #History #Incidence (geometry) #Internal medicine #Medicine #Memory Processes and Influences #Memory and Neural Mechanisms #Period (music) #Psychiatry #Psychology #Sociology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1192/bjp.2018.129

published in The British Journal of Psychiatry 213(5), 661-663 (Cambridge University Press)

openalex publication_date 2018/07/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Theories of cognitive reserve, disuse syndrome and stress have suggested that activities that are mentally engaging, enjoyable and socially interactive could be protective against the development of dementia. Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study shows that for adults aged 50 and older visiting museums every few months or more was associated with a lower incidence rate of dementia over a 10-year follow-up period compared with less-frequent visiting. This association was independent of demographics, socioeconomic status, health-related variables including sensory impairment, depression, vascular conditions and other forms of community engagement. Visiting museums may be a promising psychosocial activity to support the prevention of dementia.Declaration of interestNone.

Citations

• Late-Life Engagement in Social and Leisure Activities Is Associated with a Decreased Risk of Dementia: A Longitudinal Study from the Kungsholmen Project

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