Engagement in hobbies and mental well-being among people aged 65 and older in 16 countries Summary The increasing aging population represents a threat to global health due to the social and psychological challenges they experience. To mitigate this, many countries promote participation in hobbies to support and improve mental health. However, it is still unclear whether there is consistency in benefits across different national settings. We harmonized measures of hobby participation and multiple aspects of mental well-being across 16 countries represented in five longitudinal studies (N = 93,263). The prevalence of hobby participation varied substantially between countries, from 51.0% of Spanish respondents to 96.0% of Danish respondents. Fixed-effects models and multinational meta-analyses were applied to compare longitudinal associations between hobbies and mental well-being. Regardless of confounders, having a hobby was associated with fewer depressive symptoms (pooled coefficient = −0.10; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = −0.13, −0.07) and higher levels of self-reported health (pooled coefficient = 0.06; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.08), happiness (pooled coefficient = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.06, 0.13), and life satisfaction ( combined coefficient = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.08, 0.12). Additional analyzes suggested a temporal relationship. The strength of these associations and the prevalence of hobby participation were correlated with macro-level factors such as life expectancy and national levels of happiness, but overall, national-level factors explained little variation in the findings (< 9%). Given the relative universality of the findings, ensuring equality in hobby participation within and between countries should be a priority to promote healthy aging. |
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Having a hobby is linked to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of happiness, self-reported health, and life satisfaction among people age 65 and older, and this is true in 16 countries on three continents, according to a study led by researchers at the UCL.
Having a hobby is linked to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of happiness, self-reported health, and life satisfaction among people age 65 and older, and this holds true in 16 countries on three continents, according to a new study led by researchers at the UCL (University College London).
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine , aimed to see whether the benefits of hobbies were consistent across different national settings and analyzed data from 93,263 people aged 65 and older who had enrolled in five existing longitudinal studies in England, Japan , USA. United States, China and 12 European countries.
Analyzing data from participants spanning four to eight years , the researchers found that having a hobby was also related to later decreases in depressive symptoms and increases in happiness and life satisfaction, suggesting there could be an effect causal, although as an observational study it could not demonstrate causality.
These results were maintained after adjusting for other factors such as relationship status, employment, and household income. The study found that the benefits of having a hobby were relatively universal, with only small differences between countries.
Lead author Dr Karen Mak (UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare) said: “Our study shows the potential for hobbies to protect older people from deterioration in mental health and wellbeing related to age. This potential is consistent across many countries and cultural settings.
“Of the four outcomes, life satisfaction was most strongly related to participation in hobbies. Hobbies can contribute to life satisfaction in our later years through many mechanisms, including feeling in control of our mind and body, finding purpose in life, and feeling competent in tackling daily problems.
“Theoretical work suggests that the relationship between hobbies and well-being may be bidirectional : that people with better mental health may be more likely to engage in a hobby, and persisting in a hobby may help us maintain greater life satisfaction.
"Our research also helps policymakers promote access to hobbies among older people as a way to improve their well-being and health."
Hobbies , defined as activities that people do during their free time for pleasure, can range from volunteering or being part of a club to reading, gardening, games, and arts and crafts .
The researchers found that the proportion of people who said they had a hobby varied considerably between countries: 51% of study participants in Spain reported having a hobby, compared to 96% in Denmark, 95.8% in Sweden and 94.4% in Switzerland.
China had the lowest level of hobby participation, at 37.6%, but the researchers cautioned that respondents in China were only asked about social hobbies, not hobbies in general.
In countries with higher life expectancy and national happiness levels, more people reported having a hobby, and also the link between well-being and having a hobby was stronger in those countries.
The five longitudinal studies were: the English Longitudinal Study on Aging (ELSA), the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the Health, Aging and Retirement Survey in Europe (SHARE) and the China Health Study. and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). In ELSA, JAGES and HRS, participants were asked about their hobbies and the word was not defined; In SHARE and CHARLS, participants were asked if they participated in a specific list of hobbies.
Reference : Mak, HW, Noguchi, T., Bone, JK et al. Hobby engagement and mental well-being among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries . Nat Med (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02506-1
The study was supported by Wellcome, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Belgian National Scientific Fund and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
