Harmonizing Health and Wellbeing: The Impact of Music on Individuals Over 40
As the global population ages, the burden of disease and associated healthcare costs are on the rise. In this context, the role of music in promoting health and wellbeing has gained attention. A recent study sought to understand the biopsychosocial effects of music on individuals over 40 years of age, focusing on both listening to and actively performing music.
The study involved a comprehensive search of peer-reviewed articles up to April 2023 across six electronic databases. The researchers focused on healthy adults aged 40 and above, and analyzed a total of 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The findings suggest that active participation in music can lead to beneficial effects on cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Listening to music, on the other hand, seems to have a positive impact primarily in the cognitive domain.
The results are consistent with the idea that both active and passive music activities can enhance health and wellbeing in individuals over 40. However, the researchers emphasize the need for future prospective RCTs with more uniform and sensitive measurements. This will allow for a better understanding of the role of music in promoting healthy aging and longevity, especially in countries with a high population density of elderly people.
Article Information
The role of music in promoting health and wellbeing: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Published in European Journal of Public Health. Erica Viola et al.
Abstract
Background: The higher disease burden and related costs due to an increasing aging population have placed tremendous pressure on the healthcare systems worldwide. Given that music, both listened and actively performed, promotes and maintains good health and wellbeing among the population, we sought to perform a systematic review that would assess its biopsychosocial effects on a population over 40 years of age.
Methods: A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed articles up to April 2021 was conducted on six electronic databases (i.e. Cochrane, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus). Our study population only included healthy adults of 40 years and older. A total of 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) matched the inclusion criteria and were therefore analyzed.
Results: Despite the heterogeneity of the methodologies used in the selected studies, our findings suggest that active musical participation can lead to beneficial effects on both cognitive and psychosocial functioning, whereas the positive impact of listening to music seems to be predominantly restricted to the cognitive domain.
Conclusions: Although our results are consistent with both active and passive music activities favouring health and wellbeing in individuals 40 years old and over, future prospective RCTs, employing more uniformed and sensitive measurements, should allow us to better gauge the role of music participation in healthy aging and longevity, especially in countries with a high population density of elderly people.
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