{"doi":"10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z","title":"Harmonious ageing: a narrative review of music therapy in the biomedical literature","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Purpose</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>As the global population of older adults rises, the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) advocates for disease prevention, management, and enhancing overall wellbeing in older adults. We reviewed the MEDLINE literature under the MeSH term “music therapy” (MT), for its role in promoting healthy ageing.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Methods</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>A systematic search of the MEDLINE biomedical database (Ovid) was conducted using “MT” and “Ageing” as keywords, retrieving relevant full-text studies in English. Preference was given to more recent studies with higher levels of evidence. The studies were categorised according to the biopsychosocial framework into physical, cognitive and social domains, and further subcategorised based on their relevance to disease prevention and management.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>The initial search identified 1147 articles, of which 75 met inclusion criteria. Studies encompassed both MT and music interventions delivered by non-music therapists. Overall, studies showed benefits in the promotion of physical health, including enhancing exercise capacity and improving fitness among older adults. Results were promising in managing conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and frailty. In the area of brain health, studies showed cognitive benefits, particularly in attention and processing speed among older adults. Socially, there was evidence of enhanced quality of life, reduced anxiety and depression, and improved social engagement, including in people living with dementia, underscoring the role of music in fostering emotional connections and mitigating caregiver stress.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>MT and interventions can enhance biopsychosocial health outcomes in older adults. Research should prioritise isolating MT’s specific effects, standardising definitions and methodologies, and exploring therapeutic mechanisms.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>","journal":"European Geriatric Medicine","year":2025,"id":625818,"datarank":0.32958368660043297,"base_score":2.1972245773362196,"endowment":2.1972245773362196,"self_citation_contribution":0.32958368660043297,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.32958368660043297,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":8,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1618647,"name":"Ciara Barry","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":510334,"name":"Rohit Upadhyay","orcid":"0000-0003-1859-7784","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1618648,"name":"Rana Alash","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1618649,"name":"Méabh O’Raghallaigh","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1618650,"name":"Róisín Hayes","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1232549,"name":"Román Romero‐Ortuño","orcid":"0000-0002-3882-7447","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1618646,"name":"Shaz Raja","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Harmonious ageing: a narrative review of music therapy in the biomedical literature","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Purpose</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>As the global population of older adults rises, the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) advocates for disease prevention, management, and enhancing overall wellbeing in older adults. We reviewed the MEDLINE literature under the MeSH term “music therapy” (MT), for its role in promoting healthy ageing.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Methods</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>A systematic search of the MEDLINE biomedical database (Ovid) was conducted using “MT” and “Ageing” as keywords, retrieving relevant full-text studies in English. Preference was given to more recent studies with higher levels of evidence. The studies were categorised according to the biopsychosocial framework into physical, cognitive and social domains, and further subcategorised based on their relevance to disease prevention and management.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>The initial search identified 1147 articles, of which 75 met inclusion criteria. Studies encompassed both MT and music interventions delivered by non-music therapists. Overall, studies showed benefits in the promotion of physical health, including enhancing exercise capacity and improving fitness among older adults. Results were promising in managing conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and frailty. In the area of brain health, studies showed cognitive benefits, particularly in attention and processing speed among older adults. Socially, there was evidence of enhanced quality of life, reduced anxiety and depression, and improved social engagement, including in people living with dementia, underscoring the role of music in fostering emotional connections and mitigating caregiver stress.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title>\n            <jats:p>MT and interventions can enhance biopsychosocial health outcomes in older adults. Research should prioritise isolating MT’s specific effects, standardising definitions and methodologies, and exploring therapeutic mechanisms.</jats:p>\n          </jats:sec>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":2.0794415416798357,"endowment":2.0794415416798357,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"39755779","pmcid":"PMC12014829","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W4406061395","authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"Irish Research eLibrary","grant_id":"unidentified","title":"unidentified"},{"funder_name":"University of Dublin, Trinity College","grant_id":"","title":null}],"total_grants":2,"fwci":2.5243,"citation_percentile":0.87641951,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2026,"count":7}],"oa_status":"hybrid","license":"cc-by","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z.pdf","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z/fulltext.html","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39755779","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/12014829","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2262/110614","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014829/pdf/41999_2024_Article_1146.pdf","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstreams/b65eec95-d0a5-4ad5-aeb6-36c2824285f5/download","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC12014829","host_type":"Europe_PMC"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC12014829?pdf=render","host_type":"Europe_PMC"},{"url":"http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z","host_type":""},{"url":"http://people.tcd.ie/romeroor","host_type":""},{"url":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z","host_type":""},{"url":"https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z","host_type":""}],"fields_of_study":["Music Therapy and Health","Neuroscience and Music Perception","Art Therapy and Mental Health","06 humanities and the arts","0604 arts"],"mesh_terms":["Healthy Aging","Aged","Aging","Humans","Music Therapy","Quality of Life"],"keywords":["Biopsychosocial model","Medicine","Psychological intervention","Gerontology","MEDLINE","Dementia","Anxiety","Quality of life (healthcare)","Disease","Population","Music therapy","Clinical psychology","Psychiatry","Nursing","Physical Health","Brain Health","Healthy Ageing","Social Wellbeing","Aging","610","Creative Arts Practice","Review","Inclusive Society","Healthy Aging","Ageing","616","Quality of Life","Age-related disability","Humans","Neuroscience","Aged"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Reduced inequalities"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-04T10:59:28.190850Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}