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European Geriatric Medicine

Open Access 04-01-2025 | Review

Harmonious ageing: a narrative review of music therapy in the biomedical literature

Authors: Shaz Raja, Ciara Barry, Rohit Upadhyay, Rana Alash, Méabh O’Raghallaigh, Róisín Hayes, Roman Romero-Ortuno

Published in: European Geriatric Medicine

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Key summary points

Aim

Review the MEDLINE literature under the MeSH term “music therapy” (MT), for its role in promoting healthy ageing and enhancing wellbeing across physical, cognitive, and social domains in older people.

Findings

Our search retrieved studies that included both music therapy and music interventions delivered by non-music therapists.

Message

Overall, the studies demonstrated benefits in physical fitness, cognition, and social functioning among older adults. Future research should prioritise isolating MT’s specific effects, standardising methodologies, and exploring therapeutic mechanisms to optimise its application.
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Metadata
Title
Harmonious ageing: a narrative review of music therapy in the biomedical literature
Authors
Shaz Raja
Ciara Barry
Rohit Upadhyay
Rana Alash
Méabh O’Raghallaigh
Róisín Hayes
Roman Romero-Ortuno
Publication date
04-01-2025
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
European Geriatric Medicine
Electronic ISSN: 1878-7657
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-024-01146-z

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