The effects of music on anxiety and depression in adult patients undergoing haemodialysis: a literature review

Abstract

The clinical condition experienced by dialysis patient affects his biopsychosocial functioning, as it alters his life rhythms, personal resources, and emotional ties, creating feelings of uncertainty for the future. This requires a complex process of psychological adaptation which often leads to the manifestation of two important expressions such as anxiety and depression. Music in support of conventional treatments promotes the care of the human being in all its aspects: physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual as it represents a sort of “escape”, and allows a detachment from reality, albeit momentary. It acts as a regulator of emotions and mood, also creating beneficial effects on hemodynamic parameters such as blood pressure and heart rate. Furthermore, musical stimulations are able to stimulate pleasure by acting directly on the neuroanatomical structures responsible for attention, learning, thinking and behavior. The aim of this literature review is to describe the effect of music on anxiety and depression in patients undergoing haemodialysis in order to propose it as a therapeutic intervention during dialysis treatment.