We all might think that art is good for us, but now scientists are adding to research that’s making it official. Daisy Fancourt, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, is about to make a case for the arts that is anything but subjective. Her new book, Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives, which will be published on February 3rd, assembles a decade of research arguing that cultural engagement produces measurable benefits for physical and mental health.
Fancourt’s work combines research from public health and cultural policy, a field that has often been met with skepticism because of its reliance on small or anecdotal studies. Instead, her research taps into large-scale epidemiological data collected over long periods, much of it originally gathered for medical and social science purposes rather than for arts advocacy.
To start her research, Fancourt identified existing studies involving tens of thousands of participants tracked over decades. Seven of these studies, primarily based in the U.K. but also conducted internationally, included detailed questions about cultural engagement alongside data on income, education, social life, and health. The professor analyzed these data sets and found a correlation between arts participation and health outcomes.
One early analysis focused on the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Since 2002, this study has followed more than 12,000 people born before 1952. Among participants with no prior history of depression, those who regularly engaged in cultural activities developed depression at a significantly lower rate over the following decade than those who did not. These findings were originally published in an essay in 2019.
Fancourt then traced similar patterns across studies involving millions of people, linking arts engagement to reduced depression, as well as other health issues, including blood pressure and cognitive functioning.
This new analysis joins a growing body of research linking art to psychological and physiological health. In October 2025, King’s College released a study asserting that looking at original artwork—rather than reproductions—significantly reduces stress.
