Hobby engagement and mental wellbeing among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries

The global population aged 65 and older is growing rapidly and faces elevated risks of loneliness, social isolation, and worsening mental health, which are linked to multimorbidity and mortality. Despite gains in life expectancy, healthy life expectancy often lags, straining health and social care systems. Hobbies—leisure activities engaged in for pleasure such as arts, crafts, reading, games, sports, gardening, volunteering, and clubs—may support mental wellbeing through psychological, biological, social, and behavioral pathways, including social support and reduced isolation. Many countries have begun promoting hobby engagement to bolster mental wellbeing, particularly among older adults. However, prior evidence is fragmented: studies typically focus on single countries, varied and sometimes conflicting definitions of hobbies, and diverse outcome measures, making cross-country generalization difficult. This study addresses whether hobby engagement consistently relates to mental wellbeing among adults aged 65+ across different cultural and national settings, and whether associations exhibit temporal directionality and are influenced by country-level factors.

A substantial body of observational and interventional research links hobbies and leisure activities with improved mental health and wellbeing in older adults. Meta-analyses report protective associations with depressive symptoms for nature-based activities and volunteering, and benefits for positive wellbeing (e.g., dancing, gardening, music). Longitudinal studies in the USA, Japan, the UK, China, and Sweden have found reduced incidence and prevalence of depression and enhanced wellbeing from participation in community groups, arts and cultural engagement, and indoor gardening. Nevertheless, the literature is limited by single-country designs, heterogeneous definitions focusing on subcategories of hobbies (e.g., volunteering versus arts), and varied measures and methodologies, impeding cross-cultural synthesis. It has been posited that diverse hobbies share common active ingredients (e.g., creativity, cognitive stimulation, social bonding) and may similarly affect population-level mental health, suggesting the need for harmonized, cross-national analyses.

Design and datasets: Longitudinal analyses used five cohorts covering 16 countries: ELSA (England, Waves 7–9), JAGES (Japan, Waves 2–4), HRS (USA, Waves 9–14), SHARE (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland; Waves 4–6), and CHARLS (China, Waves 1–3). Participants were limited to those aged 65+, followed for three consecutive waves (4–8 years). Analytical sample: N = 93,263 with complete data (per country n: Austria 2,524; Belgium 2,304; China 1,611; Czech Republic 2,664; Denmark 1,006; England 4,267; Estonia 3,584; France 2,705; Germany 966; Italy 1,915; Japan 57,051; Slovenia 1,272; Spain 2,099; Sweden 1,315; Switzerland 1,776; USA 6,204). Measures: Hobby engagement was harmonized into a binary indicator (yes/no). Mental wellbeing outcomes were harmonized and standardized across countries: depressive symptoms, self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction. Nine time-varying covariates were included: age, partnership status, household size, employment status, household income, housing tenure, long-standing mental/physical conditions, ADL difficulties, and IADL difficulties. Analytic approach: Country-specific fixed effects models estimated within-person associations between changes in hobby engagement and changes in outcomes, adjusting for all time-invariant factors (observed/unobserved) and the above time-varying covariates. Findings were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses (REML), reporting pooled coefficients and 95% CIs, with heterogeneity assessed by I² and H². Directionality: (1) Country-specific OLS regressions related hobbies at Time 1 to outcomes at Time 2, controlling for baseline outcomes and covariates; results were meta-analyzed. (2) Lagged fixed effects models using Arellano-Bond estimators were performed on ELSA (with nine waves) to test temporal associations. Country-level effects: Multilevel models on merged datasets (excluding JAGES due to restrictions) estimated residual country-level variance and tested moderation by national factors: hobby prevalence, GDP per capita, World Happiness Index, life expectancy, and Gini index. Sensitivity analyses: Multiple imputation for missing data; expanding age range to 55+ (except JAGES); stratification by gender and by retirement status; subgroup meta-analysis by hobby measure type (binary vs. index); exclusion of CHARLS (social hobbies only) in directionality analyses. Missing data were handled primarily via listwise deletion in main analyses; imputation results were compared. Analyses used Stata v17.

• Prevalence: Hobby engagement varied widely: Denmark 96.0%, Sweden 95.8%, Switzerland 94.4%, Germany 91.0%, Austria 90.0%, Japan 90.0%; Italy 54.0%, Spain 51.0%, and China 37.6% (focused on social hobbies).
• Fixed effects meta-analyses (within-person change): • Depressive symptoms: pooled coefficient = −0.10 (95% CI −0.13, −0.07; I² ≈ 69.5%). • Self-reported health: 0.06 (95% CI 0.03, 0.08; I² ≈ 48.1%). • Happiness: 0.09 (95% CI 0.06, 0.13; I² ≈ 67.0%). • Life satisfaction: 0.10 (95% CI 0.08, 0.12; I² ≈ 33.6%).
• Directionality (OLS lagged, pooled across countries, excluding CHARLS): • Depressive symptoms: −0.14 (95% CI −0.19, −0.09; I² ≈ 70.7%). • Self-reported health: 0.09 (95% CI 0.07, 0.12; I² ≈ 18.0%). • Happiness: 0.11 (95% CI 0.08, 0.14; I² ≈ 17.7%). • Life satisfaction: 0.10 (95% CI 0.07, 0.13; I² ≈ 21.8%).
• Directionality (Arellano–Bond lagged FE in ELSA): • Depressive symptoms: −0.38 (95% CI −0.63, −0.12). • Self-reported health: 0.73 (95% CI 0.47, 0.99). • Happiness: 0.36 (95% CI 0.01, 0.71). • Life satisfaction: 0.19 (95% CI −0.03, 0.41; marginal).
• Country-level variance: After adjustment, country explained <9% of variance in associations.
• Correlates of hobby prevalence (country-level): positively with World Happiness Index (r = 0.63), GDP per capita (r = 0.49), and life expectancy (r = 0.39); negatively with Gini index (r = −0.63).
• Meta-regressions/moderation: Generally no differences in effect sizes by prevalence, GDP, or Gini; marginal positive relation of World Happiness Index with life satisfaction effect sizes; life expectancy modestly increased the hobby–self-reported health association by 0.01 per additional year.
• Sensitivity analyses: Results robust to multiple imputation; including ages 55+ strengthened evidence; benefits observed for both females and males and among retired respondents; no moderating effect of national pension age; no subgroup differences by hobby measurement; exclusion of CHARLS did not change directionality results.

Across 16 countries, engaging in hobbies was consistently associated with better mental wellbeing among adults aged 65+, particularly higher life satisfaction, fewer depressive symptoms, and better self-reported health and happiness. Temporal analyses suggest that increases in hobby engagement precede improvements in these outcomes, indicating potential causal pathways, though bidirectionality likely exists. The relative universality of findings, with country-level context explaining under 9% of variance, supports the generalizability of the benefits across diverse national settings. Slightly stronger associations in countries with higher happiness and life expectancy may reflect fewer barriers to engagement and more supportive psychosocial environments that reinforce positive feedback loops between hobbies and wellbeing. Notably, benefits were also evident in countries with lower prevalence of hobby engagement, underscoring that health gains are not merely a function of high national participation rates. These findings align with theories positing that hobbies provide cognitive stimulation, social connection, purpose, and autonomy—mechanisms that sustain wellbeing in later life and may extend the period of ‘productive’ aging.

This study harmonized measures across five longitudinal datasets covering 16 countries to demonstrate that hobby engagement among adults aged 65+ is linked to fewer depressive symptoms and higher self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction, with evidence consistent across settings and over time. Given the modest role of country-level variance, promoting equitable access to hobbies should be a public health priority to support healthy aging and reduce healthcare burdens. Policy implications include scaling social prescribing and community-based initiatives that lower barriers to engagement. Future research should examine specific hobby types, frequency, duration, and mechanisms (including displacement of less salutogenic activities), leverage natural experiments (e.g., policy changes), and explore additional intraindividual moderators using datasets with more waves and finer-grained measures.

• Observational design precludes definitive causal inference despite longitudinal and advanced modeling (fixed effects, lagged models).
• Cross-dataset heterogeneity in hobby question wording, examples provided, and reference periods; although harmonized into a binary indicator and analyses suggest minimal measurement bias, differences may influence prevalence estimates.
• CHARLS primarily measured social hobbies, potentially underestimating overall hobby prevalence in China.
• Use of five studies across 16 countries limits measurement heterogeneity exploration; some outcomes and covariates had substantial missingness handled by listwise deletion (with imputed analyses largely replicating results).
• The study did not analyze hobby types, frequency, duration, or specific components (e.g., physical vs. social features), nor other partially time-varying intraindividual factors as moderators; more waves are needed to capture such variability.