Role of music in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A literature review.

INTRODUCTION:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a pulmonary disease characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. It is projected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020. The objective of the study was to examine the impact of music on psychological and physiological outcomes among individuals with COPD.
METHODS:
The scientific databases PubMed, google scholar and EBSCO were used to search for relevant articles published during a period of 01/01/2005 to 12/31/2012. The search terms "Music and COPD", "Music and Emphysema", "Singing and COPD", "Singing and Emphysema" , "music improves COPD" and "singing therapy on COPD", were used either in single or in combination. The inclusion criteria included studies having an experimental study design, were written in English and were conducted among individuals age 18 years and above. Studies that focused on the healthy population or had a disease other than COPD were excluded. Studies where music therapy was not the primary intervention and were systematic reviews were also excluded from the final analysis. Variables analyzed included year of publication, study location, study setting, target audience, study design, sample size, study duration, intervention and its components and the outcomes including physiological and psychological were assessed.
RESULTS:
A total of 7 papers that met the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. Studies included various music interventions such as singing, listening and playing music. Forty percent of the studies were performed in US. More than half of the studies (70%, n=5) had a randomized control study design and were performed in a hospital setting. The duration of the studies varied from 6 weeks to 21 months. The sample size in these studies varied from 7 to 72. Music showed improvement in the psychological outcomes such as quality of life, dyspnea and anxiety and mixed results in the improvement of physiological outcomes such as FEV, FVC, and breathing control among individuals living with COPD.
DISCUSSION:
More research of a longer duration and with a larger sample size is needed to examine the impact of music interventions on clinical, functional, psychological and physiological outcomes among COPD individuals.
PMID: 24398814