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In the creative arts therapies, the number of secondary studies (systematic reviews, meta-analyses) that summarize the available evidence for certain clinical conditions is increasing exponentially. In cooperation with the WHO and building on the first overview of the evidence of the effects of the arts on health and well-being (Fancourt & Finn, 2019), we (International Research Alliance of Creative Arts Therapies=IRA) created an overarching review of meta analyses for the area of art-based interventions to record the effects of CATs on physical, psychological and cognitive functions as well as the quality of life of people.

Methodologically, only systematic reviews with meta-analyses – i.e. the highest level of evidence – were included. Through collaboration with the WHO – and on the occasion of the UN Year of NCDs - Non-Communicable Diseases, which include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental illnesses and neurological disorders, the present Umbrella Review of CATs examined for this treatment cluster whether there are differences in the effectiveness of creative arts therapies and arts activities with therapeutic intent (AATI). From N=310 reviews found in the search, N=149 systematic reviews on the effects of art, music, dance, theater and poetry therapy were on NCDs and thus included in the umbrella review, with more than 5000 extracted effect sizes (N=5763). The results suggest that people with NCDs benefit from art-based interventions in terms of their physical, psychological and cognitive functions as well as their quality of life. Therefore, art-based interventions can represent a valuable complement to traditional treatments such as psychotherapy or drug therapies for NCDs, often with similar effect sizes between arts and CATs interventions. The results support particularly music therapy and dance therapy as sufficiently evidence-based methods in reducing symptoms and increasing protective factors major health conditions (cancer, mental health, neurological disorders).

In sum, arts-based interventions have a positive impact on physical, cognitive and mental health and quality of life. Both types of intervention are effective, (a) CATs interventions, which are often used in the context of severely impaired patient groups, and (b) arts activities with therapeutic intent (AATIs), which are more often used in non-clinical contexts. Given that psychotherapy has a drop out rate of one-in-five cases and is associated with social stigma in many cultures, it is desirable to offer therapies that are more language independent and based on creative activity. They can usefully supplement or expand therapies that are based on functional exercises, medication and the verbalization of problems. In creative activity, people often 'forget' their illness and the healthy parts and resilience are sustainably strengthened (e.g. Koch et al., 2016; Koch et al., 2025). Recent studies also show that the cost-effectiveness of art-based interventions (particularly the return of investment of CATs) is good (see Culture & Heritage Capital Report 2024). Strengths and limitations of the review are discussed.