Effects of Music Therapy on Patients with Dementia—A Systematic Review
1
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
2
Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
3
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Geriatrics 2020, 5(4), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics5040062
Received: 26 August 2020
/
Revised: 18 September 2020
/
Accepted: 22 September 2020
/
Published: 25 September 2020
Dementia is an increasingly common syndrome and while pharmacotherapy is available, its potential benefit is limited, especially in non-cognitive outcomes. Non-pharmacotherapy such as music therapy is potentially associated with improved outcomes. We assessed the effects of music therapy on patients with dementia to evaluate its potential benefits on dementia. Two independent reviewers searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for clinical trials, using the keywords “music therapy” and “dementia”. Study outcomes included cognitive function, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), and quality of life. A total of 82 studies were included, of which 43 were interventional clinical trials, and 39 were systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Significant improvements in verbal fluency occurred after music therapy, with significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and apathy. There were no significant improvements in cognition or daily functioning, and the results on quality of life and agitation were ambiguous. Limitations of studies included low patient numbers, lack of standardized music therapy, and high heterogeneity in outcomes. More large-scale clinical trials would allow for clearer conclusions on the benefits of music therapy in patients with dementia.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
music therapy; dementia; systematic review
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Lam, H.L.; Li, W.T.V.; Laher, I.; Wong, R.Y. Effects of Music Therapy on Patients with Dementia—A Systematic Review. Geriatrics 2020, 5, 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics5040062
AMA Style
Lam HL, Li WTV, Laher I, Wong RY. Effects of Music Therapy on Patients with Dementia—A Systematic Review. Geriatrics. 2020; 5(4):62. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics5040062
Chicago/Turabian StyleLam, Hei L., Wai T.V. Li, Ismail Laher, and Roger Y. Wong. 2020. "Effects of Music Therapy on Patients with Dementia—A Systematic Review" Geriatrics 5, no. 4: 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics5040062
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
