Does Music Intervention Improve Anxiety in Dementia Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Berne Ting; Daniel Tzu-Li Chen; Wei-Ti Hsu; Chih-Sung Liang; Ikbal Andrian Malau; Wei-Chih Li; Sheau-Ling Lee; Li Jingling; Kuan-Pin Su

doi:10.3390/jcm12175497

Does Music Intervention Improve Anxiety in Dementia Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

J Clin Med. 2023 Aug 24;12(17):5497. doi: 10.3390/jcm12175497.

Authors

Berne Ting^{1

2}, Daniel Tzu-Li Chen^{2

3

4

5}, Wei-Ti Hsu^{5

6}, Chih-Sung Liang⁷, Ikbal Andrian Malau^{2

5}, Wei-Chih Li^{2

8}, Sheau-Ling Lee⁹, Li Jingling⁵, Kuan-Pin Su^{2

5

10}

Affiliations

¹ Ph.D. Program for Aging, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
² Mind-Body Interface Laboratory (MBI-Lab), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
³ M.D.-Ph.D. Program, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁵ Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁷ Beitou Branch, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan.
⁸ School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁹ National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan.
¹⁰ An-Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan 70965, Taiwan.

Abstract

Music interventions (MIs) have been widely used to relieve anxiety in dementia in clinical settings. However, limited meta-analysis with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on this topic has been conducted so far. A systematic search was conducted in four major databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) for data provided by RCTs from the inception to February 2023. The search strategy employed the terms "anxiety AND music AND dementia OR Alzheimer's disease". Thirteen RCTs (827 participants) were included. The results showed MI reduced anxiety significantly (SMD = -0.67, p < 0.001), especially for Alzheimer's disease (p = 0.007) and Mixed (p < 0.001)-type dementia. Moreover, significant improvements in agitation (p = 0.021) and depression (p < 0.001) in dementia were observed. Additionally, several psychological mechanisms which may be associated with MI were reviewed comprehensively. In conclusion, our findings support the efficacy of MI in alleviating anxiety symptoms in dementia patients. PROSPERO Registration (ID: CRD42021276646).

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; anxiety; dementia; music intervention; music therapy.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The authors of this work were supported by the following grants: MOST 109-2320-B-038-057-MY3, 110-2321-B-006-004, 110-2811-B-039-507, 110-2320-B-039-048-MY2, 110-2320-B-039-047-MY3, 110-2813-C-039-327-B, 110-2314-B-039-029-MY3, 111-2321-B-006-008, and NSTC 111-2314-B-039-041-MY3 from the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan; ANHRF 109-31, 109-40, 110-13, 110-26, 110-44, 110-45, 111-27, 111-28, 111-47, 111-48, and 111-52 from An-Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan, Taiwan; CMRC-CMA-2 from Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Taiwan; CMU 110-AWARD-02, 110-N-17, 1110-SR-73 from the China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; and DMR-106-101, 106-227, 109-102, 109-244, 110-124, 111-245, 112-097, 112-086, 112-109, 112-232 and DMR-HHC-109-11, HHC-109-12, HHC-110-10, and HHC-111-8 from the China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.