The effect of music-based caregiving intervention on pain intensity in nursing home patients with dementia Letter to the Editor:In their recent study, Myrenget et al. 3 concluded that a randomized trial indicates that music-based caregiving does not affect the control or intervention groups. We would like to present a discussion regarding their conclusions.The authors indicated a statistically significant reduction in pain intensity in both the intervention and control groups, but they did not find any significant additional effects of music-based caregiving intervention on pain intensity when comparing the intervention and control groups before and after intervention. 3 In addition, the authors reported that they could not control the degree to which this happened during the intervention period because of acute needs at the wards. 3 This part of the dementia research area is important, and we believe that there are many confounding factors involved. This study reported an undiagnosed type of dementia in 70% of the patients. A previous study demonstrated that the efficacy of analgesic drug use on pain or behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is related to dementia. 2 The type of dementia and BPSD may also have a significant impact on pain assessment and effectiveness. Therefore, we were interested in the authors' thoughts on the type of dementia and the impact of BPSD on this outcome.While data from the first randomized trial of music and pain intensity in patients with dementia and chronic pain showed that music therapy provided pain relief, no difference in findings was noted between the intervention and control groups. 3 A previous study conducted on patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy reported that music therapy is effective for improving pain, anxiety, and sleep quality. 4 In this prior study, music therapy was performed by a professional music therapist, but the resources involved in providing it were cited as barriers to its implementation. 4 However, in the authors' study, music therapy was performed in an effective way to provide daily care to staff. In this study, although the results did not differ between the intervention and control groups, the method proved to be easy to incorporate into clinical practice without any resource constraints associated with its implementation.There are several potential confounding factors that affect the living environment of people with dementia residing in nursing home. Considering that evaluating pain in persons with dementia is indeed difficult owing to a variety of factors, it is possible that this part of the evaluation could have been affected in persons with dementia.Myrenget et al. 3 have reported useful data focusing on musicbased caregiving for pain that can provide critical support to persons with dementia. Similarly, previous studies have suggested the usefulness of implementing music therapy in nursing homes. 1 We believe that relief of pain may improve the quality of life of people with dementia and promote wellness in th...
