Music before surgery may ease anxiety, but delivery details remain unclear
An umbrella review found lower preoperative anxiety with music interventions, while incomplete reporting limited conclusions about how the interventions should be implemented.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The pooled evidence favored music interventions for anxiety before surgery. This is a finding about anxiety scores, not evidence that music prevents surgical complications or improves recovery. Because the abstract leaves out important details about comparison conditions, measurement scales and implementation, it cannot establish a particular music approach for routine care.
Intervention content and delivery were often incompletely described. The abstract does not identify the anxiety scale or comparison conditions behind the pooled estimate, making its practical size difficult to interpret.
What was brought together
The researchers reviewed existing systematic reviews rather than enrolling a new patient group. They assessed review quality and summarized both anxiety findings and intervention delivery. Included reviews varied in their assessed methodological quality.
What subgroup findings leave open
The authors reported larger effects in younger patients and with longer music sessions. The abstract does not provide enough comparison details to establish an optimal session length or determine who would benefit most.
The original publication
Music intervention as a strategy to reduce preoperative anxiety: an umbrella review.
Yang KL, Detroyer E, Niu MM et al.
BMC Anesthesiol · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40836211
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.