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Evidence summaries

Music Therapy for Depression

Music therapy added to standard care may be associated with short-term improvements in mood in depressive patients. Level of evidence: "C"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 9 studies with a total of 411 subjects with depression. Lengths of music therapies varied from 6 to 12 weeks. There was a large effect favouring music therapy and treatment as usual (TAU) over TAU alone for both clinician-rated depressive symptoms (SMD -0.98, 95% CI -1.69 to -0.27; 3 RCTs, 1 CCT, n = 219) and patient-reported depressive symptoms (SMD -0.85, 95% CI -1.37 to -0.34; 3 RCTs, 1 CCT, n = 142). There were no differences in adverse events. Music therapy plus TAU was superior to TAU alone for anxiety and functioning. Music therapy and TAU was not more effective than TAU alone for improved quality of life (SMD 0.32, 95% CI -0.17 to 0.80; n = 67). We found no significant discrepancies in the numbers of participants who left the study early (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.14 to 1.70; 5 RCTs, 1 CCT, n = 293). It is uncertain whether there are effects of music therapy vs. psychological therapies on clinician-rated depression (SMD -0.78, 95% CI -2.36 to 0.81; 1 RCT, n = 11), patient-reported depressive symptoms (SMD -1.28, 95% CI -3.75 to 1.02; 4 RCTs, n = 131), quality of life (SMD -1.31, 95% CI - 0.36 to 2.99; 1 RCT, n = 11), and leaving the study early (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.02 to 1.49; 4 RCTs, n = 157). There was no eligible evidence addressing adverse events, functioning, and anxiety. It is not known whether one form of music therapy is better than another for clinician-rated depressive symptoms (SMD -0.52, 95% CI -1.87 to 0.83; 1 RCT, n = 9), patient-reported depressive symptoms (SMD -0.01, 95% CI -1.33 to 1.30; 1 RCT, n = 9), quality of life (SMD -0.24, 95% CI -1.57 to 1.08; 1 RCT, n = 9), or leaving the study early (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.01 to 8.46; 1 RCT, n = 10).

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by imprecise results (few small studies for each comparison) and indirectness (short follow- up time).

    References

    • Aalbers S, Fusar-Poli L, Freeman RE et al. Music therapy for depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017;11():CD004517. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords