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In arts-based interventions (ABI), the number of secondary studies has increased exponentially. In cooperation with the WHO, we created an overarching review of meta-analyses for the area of art-based interventions to record their effects on physical, psychological and cognitive functions as well as the quality of life. We included systematic reviews with meta-analyses in the areas of creative arts therapies (CATs) and arts activities with therapeutic intent (AATI) with a focus on non-communicable diseases NCDs), i.e. cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental illnesses and neurological disorders. We investigated the effectiveness of CATs and AATIs. We found N=149 systematic reviews that analyzed effects of art, music, dance, theater and poetry therapy, with more than N=5763 extracted effect sizes. Preliminary results suggest that arts-based interventions have a beneficial effect on the physical, psychological and cognitive functions, and the quality of life of persons with NCDs. Therefore, arts-based interventions can represent a valuable complement to traditional treatments such as psychotherapy, medication or functional exercise for NCDs. Results support particularly music therapy/music and dance therapy/dance with the highest numbers of reviews, showing reduced symptoms and increased protective factors in many major health conditions (cancer, mental health, neurological disorders). CATs and AATIs had similar effect sizes, with CATs more often employed in the context of severely impaired clinical patient groups, and AATIs more often in community-related health contexts. Arts-based interventions are based on creative activity and can usefully supplement or expand more traditional interventions. Recent studies also show their high cost-effectiveness.