Effects of Music Therapy on Agitation in Dementia: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this review was to assess the quality and to evaluate the effectiveness of music interventions in reducing agitation in older adults with dementia. Methods: Randomized controlled studies and randomized crossover studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AGELINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Korea Med, Kmbase, RISS, National Assembly Digital Library, KISS, and RICH. Two reviewers independently retrieved articles, extracted data, and assessed the quality of studies. Results: In total, 10 studies were selected from 1095 unique citations. All included studies were conducted in long term care settings. Overall, risk of bias for included studies was low to moderate. The weighted average effect size across studies was-0.39 (95%CI [-0.69,-0.10], p=.009, I 2 =63%). Music therapy was effective to reduce agitation of the older adults with dementia. Conclusion: Music intervention can be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for the reduction of agitation in dementia. Future studies need to use rigorous research method and to provide description of research methods in greater detail. In addition, future studies are required to explore the effects of music therapy according to severity of agitation and dementia.