The effect of music therapy on cognitive functions in patients with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Fusar-Poli L, Bieleninik Ł, Brondino N, Chen XJ, Gold C
Aging & mental health · 67 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
- Meta-analysis (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2017-07-10 · Aging Ment Health · vol. 22 · issue 9 · pp. 1103–1112
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Cited
- 145 citations · more than 79% of similar papers · 1.6× the field average
- References
- 71 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Music Therapy and Health · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Keywords
- PsycINFO, CINAHL, Dementia, Randomized controlled trial, MEDLINE, Meta-analysis, Cognition, Clinical psychology, Music therapy, Medicine, Subgroup analysis, Psychology, Physical therapy, Psychiatry, Psychological intervention, Internal medicine
- MeSH
- humans, dementia, music therapy, outcome assessment, health care
5 authors
From IT, NO, CN
- Laura Fusar‐Poli · correspondingUniversity of Pavia
- Łucja BieleninikUni Research (Norway)
- Natascia BrondinoUniversity of Pavia
- Xijing ChenInstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Christian GoldUni Research (Norway)
Abstract
Objectives
The aim of the present study was to meta-analyze the effect of music therapy (MT) on cognitive functions in patients with dementia.
Method
A systematic literature search was performed in Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL and RILM up to 8 September 2016. We included all randomized controlled trials that compared MT with standard care, or other non-musical types of intervention, evaluating cognitive outcomes in patients with dementia. Outcomes included global cognition, complex attention, executive function, learning and memory, language, and perceptual-motor skills.
Results
From 1089 potentially relevant records, 110 studies were assessed for eligibility, and 7 met the inclusion criteria, of which 6 contained appropriate data for meta-analysis (330 participants, mean age range 78.8-86.3). Overall, random-effects meta-analyses suggested no significant effects of MT on all outcomes. Subgroup analysis found evidence of a beneficial effect of active MT on global cognition (SMD = 0.29, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.57, p = 0.04).
Conclusion
Despite the limited evidence of the present review, it is important to continue supporting MT as a complementary treatment for older adults with dementia. RCTs with larger sample sizes are needed to better elucidate the impact of MT on cognitive functions.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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