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Music Soothes Depression In Dementia Patients

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on March 7, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 7, 2024 -- Music therapy can help lift the spirits and ease depression in people with dementia, a new evidence review has found.

Findings suggest that music-based therapy probably improves depressive symptoms and might even improve behavioral issues by the end of treatment, researchers reported.

"This review increases our understanding of the effects of music therapy and strengthens the case for incorporating music in dementia care, particularly in care home settings,” said lead investigator Jenny van der Steen, an associate professor of epidemiology at Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands.

“Music therapy offers benefits beyond those of other group activities, helping to support mood and behavior in a way that is engaging and accessible, even in later stages of dementia,” van der Steen continued in a news release.

“Care home managers should consider integrating structured musical sessions as part of a person-centered approach to dementia care,” she added.

For their review, researchers pooled evidence from 30 studies involving more than 1,700 people.

The studies looked at how music therapy might improve emotional well-being, quality of life, mood disturbances, behavioral problems, social behavior and thinking and memory skills (cognition).

Most participants were in care homes, with the therapy provided individually or in group settings.

Researchers concluded that “when compared to usual care, providing people with dementia with at least five sessions of a music-based therapeutic intervention probably improves depressive symptoms and may improve overall behavioral problems at the end of treatment.”

Music therapy is unlikely to significantly other dementia-related symptoms like agitation, aggression, emotional well-being or cognition, results show.

However, when compared to other treatments, there is some evidence music therapy might improve social behavior and decrease anxiety.

“Music therapy is a drug-free way of helping people feel less sad and less anxious,” co-author Annemieke Vink of ArtEZ University of the Arts in The Netherlands said in a news release. She has first-hand experience delivering music therapy to people with dementia.

“We hope that the higher quality of recent studies and increasing evidence-base will result in more attention being given to music therapy and other non-pharmacological approaches,” she added. “Looking at the effect sizes, music therapy is a reasonable alternative to pharmacological approaches and is much more person-centered.”

However, researchers said more studies are needed into the long-term effects of music therapy, particularly in community settings outside care homes.

The new study appears in the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews.

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted March 2025

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