Abstract:Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy on cognitive function of elderly patients with dementia. Methods Electronic databases were searched from inception to 12th July, 2020, to retrieve randomized controlled trials （RCTs） concerning the effect of music therapy on cognitive function of the elderly with dementia. After data extraction and quality evaluation of the literature, a meta-analysis of the included studies was performed through RevMan5.3 version. Results Fifteen RCTs were included, involving 1 101 samples. Meta-analysis showed that music intervention could improve cognitive function of older persons with dementia［MD=1.58，95%CI(0.54，2.62)，P<0.01］. Subgroup analysis showed that intervention course ≥12 weeks ［MD=1.75，95%CI(0.61,2.90)，P<0.01］, passive music intervention ［MD=2.27，95%CI(0.45,4.09)，P<0.05］, active and passive music intervention ［MD=2.32，95%CI(0.02,4.63)，P<0.05］，group intervention ［MD=1.65，95%CI(0.39,2.92)，P<0.05］, the frequency of intervention ≥twice a week ［MD=1.50，95%CI(0.29,2.70)，P<0.05］, and the total duration ≥30 hours ［MD=1.66，95% CI(0.21,3.10)，P<0.05］ had significant effects. Conclusion Music therapy has a significant effect on cognitive function of older persons with dementia. Passive and group-based music therapy provided twice a week and greater than 30 hours is recommended. Because of limited number and quality of the studies included in the meta-analysis, the conclusion needs to be further verified by more large-sample and high-quality RCTs.
