Culture and HUNT

The Trøndelag Health Study (The HUNT Study) is one of the largest health studies ever performed. It is a unique database of questionnaire data, clinical measurements and samples from a county’s inhabitants since 1984.

The HUNT Study is well-known in the county of Trøndelag, with high participation rates, providing a good base for further health surveys in the county and an excellent research environment.

Today, HUNT Research Centre has a database with information on 250,000 people, and has been certified in conformity with NS-EN ISO 9001:2015 since 2011.

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Logo: HUNT

From HUNT3 (2006–08), self-reported information on creative and receptive cultural activities was included, and several researchers have studied the relationship between culture and health based on the HUNT data:

  1. Cuypers, K., Krokstad, S., Holmen, T. L., Knudtsen, M. S., Bygren, L. O., & Holmen, J. (2012). Patterns of receptive and creative cultural activities and their association with perceived health, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life among adults: the HUNT study, Norway. J Epidemiol Community Health, 66(8), 698-703.
  2. Hansen, E., Sund, E., Knudtsen, M. S., Krokstad, S., Holmen, T. L. (2015) Cultural activity participation and associations with self-perceived health, life-satisfaction and mental health: the Young HUNT Study, Norway, BMC Public Health 15:544
  3. Løkken, B. I., Rangul, V., Merom, D., Ekholm, O., Krokstad, S., & Sund, E. R. (2018). Are playing instruments, singing or participating in theatre good for population health? Associations with self-rated health and all-cause mortality in the HUNT3 study (2006–2008), Norway. In Music and Public Health (pp. 33-54). Springer, Cham.
  4. Løkken BI, Merom D, Sund ER, Krokstad, S., Rangul, V. et al. (2022) Cultural participation and all-cause mortality, with possible gender differences: an 8-year follow-up in the HUNT Study, Norway. J Epidemiol Community Health, 74:624-630. Doi: 10.1136/jech-2019-213313
  5. Løkken BI, Merom D, Sund ER, Krokstad S, Rangul V (2021) Association of engagement in cultural activities with cause-specific mortality determined through an eight-year follow up: The HUNT Study, Norway. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0248332.
  6. Løkken (2023) Engagement in cultural activity and public health: The HUNT Study, Norway, phd thesis NTNU, Institutt for samfunnsmedisin og sykepleie
  7. Løkken, Bente Irene; Sund, Erik; Krokstad S, Bjerkeset O, Rangul V (2023) Association between engagement in cultural activities and use of general practitioner consultations: 7-year follow-up of adults from the HUNT study, Norway.
  8. Løkken, B. I., Kvaløy, K., Sund, E. R., Stranden, M. & Rangul, V. (2024). Is leisure activity engagement good for health? Prevalence in activities and the correlation between engagement and mental health: The Young–HUNT study, Norway. In A.-L. Heide, K. B. Batt-Rawden, M. Stranden & E. Angelo (Eds.), MusPed:Research: Vol. 7. Health and life skills through music, arts and culture in education (Chap. 1, pp. 19–49). Cappelen Damm Akademisk.

Participation in cultural activities should be a real opportunity for the entire population, regardless of socioeconomic conditions.