Funded in part by American Music Therapy Association
The impact of group music therapy on depression and cognition in elderly persons with dementia: a randomized controlled study
Chu H, Yang CY, Lin Y, Ou KL, Lee TY, O'Brien AP, Chou KR
Biological research for nursing · 120 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Industry funded
- Industry group
- American Music Therapy Association
Based on 1 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2013-05-02 · Biol Res Nurs · vol. 16 · issue 2 · pp. 209–217
- Publisher
- SAGE Publishing
- Cited
- 209 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 14.4× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 29 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Music Therapy and Health · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Art Therapy and Mental Health
- Keywords
- Dementia, Music therapy, Depression (economics), Intervention (counseling), Medicine, Cognition, Group psychotherapy, Randomized controlled trial, Physical therapy, Recall, Clinical psychology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Internal medicine, Disease
- MeSH
- humans, dementia, music therapy, case-control studies, prospective studies, depression, cognition disorders, aged, aged, 80 and over, female, male
7 authors
From TW
- Hsin ChuTri-Service General Hospital; National Defense Medical Center
- Chyn-Yng YangTaipei Medical University Hospital; Taipei Medical University
- Yu Te LinKang-Ning Junior College of Medical Care and Management; Taipei Medical University
- Keng‐Liang OuTaipei Medical University
- Tso-Ying LeeCheng Hsin General Hospital
- Anthony Paul O’Brien
Abstract
Objective
The aims of this study were to determine the effectiveness of group music therapy for improving depression and delaying the deterioration of cognitive functions in elderly persons with dementia.
Method
The study had a prospective, parallel-group design with permuted-block randomization. Older persons with dementia (N = 104) were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of group music therapy (two 30-min sessions per week for 6 weeks), and the control group received usual care. Data were collected 4 times: (1) 1 week before the intervention, (2) the 6th session of the intervention, (3) the 12th session of the intervention, and (4) 1 month after the final session.
Results
Group music therapy reduced depression in persons with dementia. Improvements in depression occurred immediately after music therapy and were apparent throughout the course of therapy. The cortisol level did not significantly decrease after the group music therapy. Cognitive function significantly improved slightly at the 6th session, the 12th session, and 1 month after the sessions ended; in particular, short-term recall function improved. The group music therapy intervention had the greatest impact in subjects with mild and moderate dementia.
Conclusion
The group music intervention is a noninvasive and inexpensive therapy that appeared to reduce elders' depression. It also delayed the deterioration of cognitive functions, particularly short-term recall function. Group music therapy may be an appropriate intervention among elderly persons with mild and moderate dementia.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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