The effect of music therapy on cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Bleibel M, El Cheikh A, Sadier NS, Abou-Abbas L
Alzheimer's research & therapy · 75 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
- Systematic review (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2023-03-27 · Alzheimers Res Ther · vol. 15 · issue 1 · p. 65
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Cited
- 125 citations · more than 98% of similar papers · 6.2× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 48 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Music Therapy and Health · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Keywords
- Music therapy, Randomized controlled trial, Cochrane Library, Cognition, Medicine, Systematic review, Verbal fluency test, Intervention (counseling), Psychological intervention, Quality of life (healthcare), MEDLINE, Psychology, Clinical psychology, Neuropsychology, Physical therapy, Psychotherapist, Psychiatry, Internal medicine
- MeSH
- humans, alzheimer disease, music therapy, cognition, music, aged, aged, 80 and over, middle aged, randomized controlled trials as topic
4 authors
From LB, FR, AE, GN
- Malak BleibelLebanese University
- Ali El CheikhSorbonne Université
- Najwane Said SadierAbu Dhabi University; Lebanese University
- Linda Abou Abbas · correspondingLebanese University; Institut National de Santé Publique; Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban
Abstract
Background
The use of music interventions as a non-pharmacological therapy to improve cognitive and behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients has gained popularity in recent years, but the evidence for their effectiveness remains inconsistent.
Objectives
To summarize the evidence of the effect of music therapy (alone or in combination with pharmacological therapies) on cognitive functions in AD patients compared to those without the intervention.
Methods
A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane library, and HINARI for papers published from 1 January 2012 to 25 June 2022. All randomized controlled trials that compared music therapy with standard care or other non-musical intervention and evaluation of cognitive functions are included. Cognitive outcomes included: global cognition, memory, language, speed of information processing, verbal fluency, and attention. Quality assessment and narrative synthesis of the studies were performed.
Results
A total of 8 studies out of 144 met the inclusion criteria (689 participants, mean age range 60.47-87.1). Of the total studies, 4 were conducted in Europe (2 in France, 2 in Spain), 3 in Asia (2 in China, 1 in Japan), and 1 in the USA. Quality assessment of the retrieved studies revealed that 6 out of 8 studies were of high quality. The results showed that compared to different control groups, there is an improvement in cognitive functions after music therapy application. A greater effect was shown when patients are involved in the music making when using active music intervention (AMI).
Conclusion
The results of this review highlight the potential benefits of music therapy as a complementary treatment option for individuals with AD and the importance of continued investigation in this field. More research is needed to fully understand the effects of music therapy, to determine the optimal intervention strategy, and to assess the long-term effects of music therapy on cognitive functions.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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