Comment on ‘Effects of Music Intervention on Physical and Psychological Problems in Adults Receiving Haemodialysis Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis’

Common physical and psychological problems in haemodialysis patients include hypotension, fatigue, anaemia, anxiety, depression and stress, which seriously affect patients' quality of life, compliance and socioeconomic status (Gerogianni et al. 2019). Although pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies play an important role in alleviating these symptoms, there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic evidence on the effectiveness of music intervention as a non-pharmacological treatment modality in haemodialysis patients. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, the study by Yangöz et al. aimed to summarise and analyse the effects of music intervention on haemodialysis-related physiological and psychological problems and to provide clinical care with more practical guidance for interventions (Yangöz and Özer 2022). The study synthesised and analysed the effects of music interventions on improving physiological and psychological variables (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, pain, anxiety and stress) in haemodialysis patients, and evaluated the effects of different forms of interventions (e.g., active and passive music interventions), intervention duration, frequency and music selection on the effects through subgroup analyses. The results of the study showed that music interventions were effective to some extent in improving these problems, particularly in reducing anxiety, stress and cardiovascular indices, while having less effect on physiological variables such as body temperature and cramps. This study provides important evidence to support the wider use of music interventions in haemodialysis care in the future. Several limitations of this study should be identified and emphasised. First, all interventions included were passive music interventions and did not include active music interventions. Active music interventions have been shown to improve patients' emotional engagement and psychological outcomes in other pathological conditions (Bradt et al. 2021). Thus, a single passive music intervention may have overlooked the potentially diverse efficacy of music interventions. Second, the literature has shown that patient choice of music may be more effective in regulating mood and leading to positive psychological improvements (Hepp et al. 2018). However, the current study predominantly used researcher-selected music genres, ignoring the unique effects that individualised choices may have on mood regulation and physiological variables (e.g., heart rate and blood pressure). Third, the duration and frequency of the interventions in the current study were more variable, with music interventions ranging from 15 to 180 min and varying in weekly frequency, which may have led to uncertainty about the effectiveness of the intervention. Fourth, the follow-up period in the study was short (4 days to 1 month), which is a limitation in assessing the long-term effects of the music intervention. Considering that physiological and psychological problems in haemodialysis patients are usually of a long-term nature, short-term follow-up may not adequately capture the lasting effects of the intervention. Finally, the results of the heterogeneity test in this study showed significant heterogeneity between studies, but did not address the sources of heterogeneity. Different music genres, intervention durations and study participants may all contribute to heterogeneity. Therefore, future studies should strengthen the subgroup analysis of heterogeneity and explore the potential factors influencing intervention effects to provide more targeted music intervention recommendations for clinical care. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.