Playing a Musical Instrument as a Protective Factor against Dementia and Cognitive Impairment: A Population-Based Twin Study
Table 2
Characteristics for pairs where at least one twin was a musician ( pairs1).
Cases ()
Controls ()
Odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI for crude model
Age (years)
(66–89)
(66–89)
Women
11 (40.7)
10 (37)
Men
16 (59.3)
17 (63)
Education (years)
(6–16)
(6–16)
OR = 0.96 (0.9, 1.1)
Physical activity2
(0–3)
(0–3)
OR = 0.6* (0.5, 0.8)
Musicians
10 (37)
21 (78)
OR = 0.35* (0.14, 0.9)
Zygotic status
Monozygotic
3 (11.1)
Same-sex dizygotic
14 (51.9)
Opposite sex dizygotic
9 (33.3)
Indeterminate
1 (3.7)
Clinical diagnoses
Dementia
16 (59.3)
Cognitive impairment
11 (40.7)
Cognitively intact
27 (100)
Data are (%) or means ± SD (range).
1There were 31 musicians in the sample. In 4 pairs, both twins were musicians.
2Physical activity was assessed using a 0–3 scale, where 0 is no activity and 3 is frequent activity. .