Music Engagement and Episodic Memory among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To determine whether music engagement influences middle-aged and older adults’ performance on episodic memory tasks. Methods Secondary data analysis of a sample (N = 4,592) of cognitively healthy adults from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study were used for this study. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze the cross-sectional differences in performance on tasks of episodic memory between participants who listened to music (n= 3,659) or sang or played an instrument (n= 989). Results On average, participants recalled 10.3 words out of a possible 20. Regression analyses showed that both music listening and singing or playing an instrument were independently associated with significantly better episodic memory. Discussion The findings provide the first population-based evidence that music engagement is associated with better episodic memory among middle-aged and older adults. Future studies should examine whether the association is causal or has a dose response.