Music Therapy and Advanced Dementia

Abstract

Advanced dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that incurs substantial suffering and costs to the patient, family members, and care providers. In 2019, dementia affected an estimated 55.2 million people worldwide and was the 7th leading cause of death. Common symptoms of advanced dementia include impairment in behavioral, cognitive, and social function, which can severely compromise a patient's ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). While there is no known cure, music therapy (MT) has risen in popularity as a non-pharmacological, palliative treatment. This paper examines existing literature on the effects of musical intervention on patients with advanced dementia. Most study results are positive, suggesting that MT may improve patients' quality of life. For example, some have shown that MT can improve pleasure, personal well-being, sundowning, swallowing, etc. Nonetheless, limitations in the studies are to be considered and future investigations on a greater scale are recommended to explore the clinical significance of these results.