https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your-brain-young-with-music

How Listening to Music Can Have Psychological Benefits

Research-backed reasons why listening to music can feel so good

https://www.verywellmind.com/surprising-psychological-benefits-of-music-4126866

Music improves wellbeing and quality of life, research suggests

A review of 26 studies finds benefits of music on mental health are similar to those of exercise and weight loss

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/24/music-improves-wellbeing-and-quality-of-life-research-suggests

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Association of Music Interventions With Health-Related Quality of LifeA Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2790186

Key Points

Question     Are music-making and listening interventions associated with positive changes in health-related quality of life?

Findings     This systematic review and meta-analysis of 26 studies comprising 779 individuals found that music interventions were associated with statistically and clinically significant changes in mental HRQOL, both preintervention to postintervention as well as when music interventions were added to treatment as usual vs treatment as usual control groups.

Meaning     These results suggest that associations between music interventions and clinically significant changes in HRQOL are demonstrable in comprehensive reviews of previous studies.

                                Abstract                                           

Importance     Increasing evidence supports the ability of music to broadly promote well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, the magnitude of music’s positive association with HRQOL is still unclear, particularly relative to established interventions, limiting inclusion of music interventions in health policy and care.

Objective     To synthesize results of studies investigating outcomes of music interventions in terms of HRQOL, as assessed by the 36- and 12-Item Health Survey Short Forms (SF-36 and SF-12).

Data Sources     MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (searched July 30, 2021, with no restrictions).

Study Selection     Inclusion criteria were randomized and single-group studies of music interventions reporting SF-36 data at time points before and after the intervention. Observational studies were excluded. Studies were reviewed independently by 2 authors.

Data Extraction and Synthesis     Data were independently extracted and appraised using GRADE criteria (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations) by multiple authors. Inverse-variance random-effects meta-analyses quantified changes in SF-36 mental and physical component summary (respectively, MCS and PCS) scores from preintervention to postintervention and vs common control groups.

Main Outcomes and Measures     SF-36 or SF-12 MCS and PCS scores, defined a priori.

Results     Analyses included 779 participants from 26 studies (mean [SD] age, 60 [11] years). Music interventions (music listening, 10 studies; music therapy, 7 studies; singing, 8 studies; gospel music, 1 study) were associated with significant improvements in MCS scores (total mean difference, 2.95 points; 95% CI, 1.39-4.51 points; P < .001) and PCS scores (total mean difference, 1.09 points; 95% CI, 0.15-2.03 points; P = .02). In subgroup analysis (8 studies), the addition of music to standard treatment for a range of conditions was associated with significant improvements in MCS scores vs standard treatment alone (mean difference, 3.72 points; 95% CI, 0.40-7.05 points; P = .03). Effect sizes did not vary between music intervention types or doses; no evidence of small study or publication biases was present in any analysis. Mean difference in MCS scores met SF-36 minimum important difference thresholds (mean difference 3 or greater).

Conclusions and Relevance     In this systematic review and meta-analysis, music interventions were associated with clinically meaningful improvements in HRQOL; however, substantial individual variation in intervention outcomes precluded conclusions regarding optimal music interventions and doses for distinct clinical and public health scenarios.