Attending cultural events and cancer mortality: A Swedish cohort study

Abstract

Attendance at cultural events is associated with better survival and self-rated health. This study aimed to determine whether attendance at cinemas, theater, art galleries, live music shows, and museums was associated with cancer-related mortality. A randomly selected, cancer-free cohort of Swedish adults aged 25–74 years (n = 9011), formed in 1990–91, was followed up to 31 December 2003. The outcome measure was cancer-related mortality. The main independent variable was a cultural attendance index. A proportional hazards analysis adjusted for age, sex, chronic conditions, disposable income, educational attainment, smoking status, leisure time physical activity, and urban/non-urban residency was conducted. Rare and moderate attendees were 3.23 (95% CI: 1.60–6.52) and 2.92 (95% CI: 1.52–5.62) times, respectively, more likely to die of cancer during the follow-up period than frequent attendees. The effect was observed only among residents of urban areas. The results, if replicated, imply that promoting attendance at cultural events could lead to improved urban population health.