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Background/Objective: Alzheimer’s disease is a condition that can cause memory, thinking, and behaviour impairments. This type of dementia affects approximately 50 million people globally. Currently, there is no remedy for this disease, but there are different treatment approaches, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, that try to alleviate the symptoms. The remarkable fact about Alzheimer’s response to music is that musical abilities can be preserved even though language could be lost. The objective of this systematic review is to assess the benefits of music therapy on cognitive impairments in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: This is a systematic review carried out following the PRISMA guidelines. The literature searches were conducted in the following databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library, and Dialnet. The inclusion criteria established were as follows: randomised controlled studies and clinical trials published in English and Spanish from 2010 to 2024, patients diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type, aged 65 years or older, who had participated in music interventions and had cognitive changes. Results: Eleven studies were included in this review. They showed that music therapy interventions mainly improved memory, language, and orientation. The results of a methodological quality analysis showed that six of the articles had good methodological quality and four had excellent methodological quality. Conclusions: The results of this review suggest that treatment with music therapy improves cognitive impairments in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, we can be sure that music creates a link between the patient and the specialist.
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; Garrido-Ardila, Elisa María 1
; Chávez-Bravo, Elena 2 ; Torres-Piles, Silvia Teresa 3 ; González-Sánchez, Blanca 1
; María Jesús Rodríguez-Mansilla 4 ; Álvaro De Toro-García 5 ; Rodríguez-Mansilla, Juan 1
1 ADOLOR Research Group, Department of Medical-Surgical Therapy, Medicine Faculty and Health Sciences, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain;
2 Plena Inclusicion Olivenza, 06100 Olivenza, Spain;
3 Research Group in Immunophysiology, Department of Medical-Surgical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
4 Department of Nursing, Hospital Don Benito-Villanueva de la Serena, 06400 Don Benito, Spain;
5 Department of Physiotherapy, Jose María Alvarez Health Centre, Extremadura Health System, 06400 Don Benito, Spain;