Music therapy in moderate and severe dementia of Alzheimer's type: a case-control study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Music therapy is a potential non-pharmacological treatment for the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, but although some studies have found it to be helpful, most are small and uncontrolled. METHODS: This case-control study was carried out by qualified music therapists in two nursing homes and two psychogeriatric wards. The participants were 38 patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) assigned randomly to a music therapy group and a control group. RESULTS: The study showed a significant reduction in activity disturbances in the music therapy group during a 6-week period measured with the Behavior Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD). There was also a significant reduction in the sum of scores of activity disturbances, aggressiveness and anxiety. Other symptoms rated by subscales of the BEHAVE-AD did not decrease significantly. Four weeks later the effects had mostly disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: Music therapy is a safe and effective method for treating agitation and anxiety in moderately severe and severe AD. This is in line with the results of some non-controlled studies on music therapy in dementia.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Music therapy significantly reduced agitation and anxiety (p = 0.02) in moderate and severe dementia.
“The authors concluded that music therapy significantly reduced agitation and anxiety (p = 0.02) in moderate and severe dementia.”
From Nonpharmacological Interventions to Reduce Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Systematic Review (2015) · cites this paper as [25]
Cites
The Global Deterioration Scale for assessment of primary degenerative dementia
Reisberg, ., Ferris, S. H., de Leon, M. J., & Crook, T. H. (1982) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.139.9.1136 · Cited by 4,982 · see citing works
(1987) · PubMed · Cited by 1,147 · see citing works
Finkel, S. I., Miller, S., Silva, J. C. E., Cohen, G. D., & Sartorius, N. (1997) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610297003943 · Cited by 651 · see citing works
Gerdner, L. A. (2000) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610200006190 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
Effects of a Music Therapy Strategy on Depressed Older Adults
Hanser, S. B., & Thompson, L. W. (1994) · Journal of Gerontology · doi:10.1093/geronj/49.6.p265 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Cognitive and behavioural effects of music-based exercises in patients with dementia
Van de Winckel, A., Feys, H., De Weerdt, W., & Dom, R. (2004) · Clinical Rehabilitation · doi:10.1191/0269215504cr750oa · Cited by 257 · see citing works
Ashida, S. (2000) · Journal of Music Therapy · doi:10.1093/jmt/37.3.170 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Gräsel, E., Wiltfang, J., & Kornhuber, J. (2003) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000068477 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
The Influence of Group Singing Therapy on the Behavior of Alzheimer's Disease Patients
Millard, K. A. O., & Smith, J. M. (1989) · Journal of Music Therapy · doi:10.1093/jmt/26.2.58 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
The Effect of Music Participation on the Social Behavior of Alzheimer's Disease Patients
Pollack, N. J., & Namazi, K. H. (1992) · Journal of Music Therapy · doi:10.1093/jmt/29.1.54 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Zarate, A., Baldessarini, R. J., Siegel, A. J., et al. (1997) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.4088/jcp.v58n0705 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Dementia and antipsychotic drugs.
Raskind, M. A., Risse, S. C., & Lampe, T. H. (1987) · PubMed · Cited by 78 · see citing works
The Effect of Singing on Alert Responses in Persons with Late Stage Dementia
Clair, A. A. (1996) · Journal of Music Therapy · doi:10.1093/jmt/33.4.234 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
The Effects of Music Therapy on Mood and Congruent Memory of Elderly Adults with Depressive Symptoms
Suzuki, A. I. (1998) · Music Therapy Perspectives · doi:10.1093/mtp/16.2.75 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
A Critique of Research Measures Used to Assess Inappropriate Psychoactive Drug Use in Older Adults
Talerico, K. A. (2002) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50072.x · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Behavioral disturbances in dementia
Herrmann, N., & Black, S. E. (2000) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.55.9.1247 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Nonpharmacological therapies in Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review of efficacy
Olazarán, J., Reisberg, B., Clare, L., Cruz, I., Peña-Casanova, J., del Ser, T., Woods, B., Beck, C., Auer, S., Lai, C., et al. (2010) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000316119 · Cited by 937 · see citing works
Abraha, I., Rimland, J. M., Trotta, F. M., Dell'Aquila, G., Cruz-Jentoft, A., Petrovic, M., Gudmundsson, A., Soiza, R., O'Mahony, D., Guaita, A., et al. (2017) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012759 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Music-based therapeutic interventions for people with dementia
van der Steen, J. T., van Soest-Poortvliet, M. C., van der Wouden, J. C., Bruinsma, M. S., Scholten, R. J., & Vink, A. C. (2017) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd003477.pub3 · Cited by 408 · see citing works
Efficacy of Music Therapy in the Treatment of Behavioral and Psychiatric Symptoms of Dementia
Raglio, A., Bellelli, G., Traficante, D., Gianotti, M., Ubezio, M. C., Villani, D., & Trabucchi, M. (2008) · Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders · doi:10.1097/wad.0b013e3181630b6f · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Ueda, T., Suzukamo, Y., Sato, M., & Izumi, S.-I. (2013) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2013.02.003 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
Music therapy for people with dementia
Vink, A. C., Bruinsma, M. S., & Scholten, R. J. (2003) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd003477.pub2 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Music therapy in dementia: a narrative synthesis systematic review
McDermott, O., Crellin, N., Ridder, H. M., & Orrell, M. (2013) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.3895 · Cited by 310 · see citing works
Oliveira, A. M. D., Radanovic, M., Mello, P. C. H. D., Buchain, P. C., Vizzotto, A. D. B., Celestino, D. L., Stella, F., Piersol, C. V., & Forlenza, O. V. (2015) · BioMed Research International · doi:10.1155/2015/218980 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
“Svansdottir and Snaedal [25] investigated the effect of music therapy in a case-control study in a sample of 38 patients and reported significant improvement in aggressiveness and anxiety.”
Individual music therapy for agitation in dementia: an exploratory randomized controlled trial
Ridder, H. M. O., Stige, B., Qvale, L. G., & Gold, C. (2013) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2013.790926 · Cited by 226 · see citing works
Cooke, M. L., Moyle, W., Shum, D. H. K., Harrison, S. D., & Murfield, J. E. (2010) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607861003713190 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Sung, H., Lee, W., Li, T., & Watson, R. (2012) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.2761 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Efficacy of music therapy treatment based on cycles of sessions: A randomised controlled trial
Raglio, A., Bellelli, G., Traficante, D., Gianotti, M., Ubezio, M. C., Gentile, S., Villani, D., & Trabucchi, M. (2010) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607861003713158 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Music therapy for posttraumatic stress in adults: A theoretical review.
Landis-Shack, N., Heinz, A. J., & Bonn-Miller, M. O. (2017) · Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain · doi:10.1037/pmu0000192 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: 6. Management of severe Alzheimer disease
Herrmann, N., & Gauthier, S. (2008) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.070804 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Cohen‐Mansfield, J., Marx, M. S., Dakheel‐Ali, M., Regier, N. G., Thein, K., & Freedman, L. (2010) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02951.x · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Raglio, A., Bellelli, G., Mazzola, P., Bellandi, D., Giovagnoli, A. R., Farina, E., Stramba-Badiale, M., Gentile, S., Gianelli, M. V., Ubezio, M. C., et al. (2012) · Maturitas · doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2012.05.016 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
STAM Protocol in Dementia: A Multicenter, Single-Blind, Randomized, and Controlled Trial
Ceccato, E., Vigato, G., Bonetto, C., Bevilacqua, A., Pizziolo, P., Crociani, S., Zanfretta, E., Pollini, L., Caneva, P. A., Baldin, L., et al. (2012) · American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias® · doi:10.1177/1533317512452038 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
de Oliveira, A. M., Radanovic, M., Homem de Mello, P. C., Buchain, P. C., Dias Vizzotto, A., Harder, J., Stella, F., Piersol, C. V., Gitlin, L. N., & Forlenza, O. V. (2019) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.4958 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Knowledge of Dementia Among the Australian Health Workforce: A National Online Survey
Annear, M. J. (2020) · Journal of Applied Gerontology · doi:10.1177/0733464817752085 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Grossberg, G. T., Pejović, V., Miller, M. L., & Graham, S. M. (2009) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000200013 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Jiménez-Palomares, M., Rodríguez-Mansilla, J., González-López-Arza, M. V., Rodríguez-Domínguez, M. T., & Prieto-Tato, M. (2013) · Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontología · doi:10.1016/j.regg.2013.01.008 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
- Authors
- Svansdottir, H. B., & Snaedal, J.
- Affiliations
- National University Hospital of Iceland (IS)
- Venue
- International Psychogeriatrics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-12
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 613-621
- ISSN
- 1041-6102 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2114952104
- Cited by
- 288
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 8.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Psychogeriatrics (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Hirsla (Landspítali University Hospital) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Social Sciences › Education › Music Education and Analysis
- Keywords
- music therapy, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, agitation, anxiety, non-pharmacological treatment, nursing homes, psychogeriatric ward, BEHAVE-AD
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aggression, Alzheimer Disease, Anxiety, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Homes for the Aged, Humans, Iceland, Male, Music Therapy, Nursing Homes, Psychiatric Department, Hospital, Social Behavior Disorders, Case-Control Studies, Treatment Outcome
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
