Effects of concert music on cognitive, physiological, and psychological parameters in the elderly with dementia: a quasi-experimental study

Non-pharmacological interventions, such as the use of music, have been shown to be important potential means of controlling adverse symptoms and signs resulting from chronic diseases already present in elderly patients with dementia. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of concert music on cognitive and physiological parameters, and behavioral and psychological symptoms in institutionalized elderly people with dementia. METHODS: A descriptive-exploratory, quantitative, quasi-experimental study was conducted with 14 elderly people. They were allocated in intervention group (IG) (n=7) with eight sessions of music listening, once a week, for 2 months, and control group (CG) (n=7) with the same procedure but without listening to the music. All participants were assessed by Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination – Revised (ACE-R) before and after the intervention. Blood pressure (BP) data were obtained; heart rate (HR) and coherence were obtained through Cardioemotion during sessions. The data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test and Student’s t-test. RESULTS: There was a predominance of female participants, who were widowed and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in both groups. A statistically significant reduction was found in the mean of apathy reduction (p=0.038) and the total mean of NPI-Q severity (p=0.033) (paired Student’s t-test) in IG. No significant differences were found in mean level of the pre- and post-analysis variables in CG. CONCLUSIONS: Concert music had a positive effect on the behavior of institutionalized elderly. Stimuli and possibilities of improving the current behavioral conditions are observed.