Contrasting Effects of Music Therapy and Aromatherapy on Perioperative Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Music therapy and aromatherapy have been demonstrated effective for perioperative anxiety. However, the available studies have indicated discordant results about which adjunct treatment is better for perioperative anxiety. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to explore the contrasting effects between them. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Six electronic databases were searched for clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of music therapy compared with aromatherapy in alleviating perioperative anxiety. The primary outcome was the postintervention anxiety level. Secondary outcomes included differences in blood pressure and heart rate before and after the intervention as well as pain scores at intraoperative and postoperative time points. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021249737). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Twelve studies (894 patients) were included. The anxiety level showed no statistically significant difference (SMD, 0.28; 95% CI: −0.12, 0.68; <i>p</i> = 0.17). The analysis of blood pressure and heart rate also did not identify statistically significant differences. Notably, the pain scores at the intraoperative time point suggested that aromatherapy was superior to music therapy (WMD, 0.29 cm; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.52; <i>p</i> = 0.02), while those at 4 h after surgery indicated the opposite results (WMD, −0.48 cm; 95% CI: −0.60, −0.36; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Low-to-moderate quality evidence suggests that music therapy and aromatherapy have similar potential to relieve perioperative anxiety. The potential data indicate that the two therapies have different benefits in intervention duration and age distribution. More direct high-quality comparisons are encouraged in the future to verify this point.