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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Dec;51(6):250-261.

Effects of Music Intervention on Anxiety, Depression Symptoms and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Ran Ran  1 , Yinyin Ying  1 , Weiping Zhang  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effects of Music Intervention on Anxiety, Depression Symptoms and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Ran Ran et al. Actas Esp Psiquiatr. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Music therapy is often used to relieve anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients, but the clinical effect of music therapy on breast cancer patients is still controversial. This study was a systematic review to investigate the effects of music intervention on anxiety, depression, pain, and quality of life in breast cancer patients.

Method: A computer search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library repositories was conducted. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published in English until October 2023, on the effects of music interventions on anxiety, depressive symptoms, pain levels, and quality of life in breast cancer patients. The Cochrane Manual of Systematic Review 5.3 was used to evaluate the quality of the included references, and Stata15.0 software was selected for meta-analysis of the study indicators.

Results: A total of 10 articles were included in this study, including 593 patients. Meta-analysis showed that music intervention could effectively alleviate anxiety symptoms [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -2.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): -3.17~-1.07], depression symptoms (SMD: -0.77, 95% CI: -1.47~-0.07), and pain degree (SMD: -3.47, 95% CI: -6.45~-0.48). There was no significant difference in the improvement of patients' quality of life (SMD: -0.07, 95% CI: -0.48~0.34).

Conclusion: Music intervention can effectively relieve anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with breast cancer, and reduce the degree of pain, but demonstration of its ability to improve the quality of life of patients requires additional research.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Literature screening flow chart. RCT, randomized controlled trial.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Risk assessment diagram of included literature.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Summary analysis of anxiety scores before and after the intervention of the experimental group (music intervention) and the control group (no music intervention). Note: SMD, standardized mean difference; CI, confidence interval.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Summary analysis of anxiety score difference between the experimental group (music intervention) and the control group (no music intervention) before and after the intervention.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Summary analysis of depression scores before and after intervention in the experimental group (music intervention) and the control group (no music intervention).
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Summary analysis of pain degree scores before and after intervention in the experimental group (music intervention) and the control group (no music intervention).
Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.
Summary analysis of the difference of life quality scores before and after intervention between the experimental group (music intervention) and the control group (no music intervention).
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