Rhythmic auditory stimulation increases 6-Minute walk distance in individuals with COPD: A repeated measures study

A Randomized Cross-Over Analysis of the 6-Minute Step Test When Administered in Different Music Listening Conditions to Healthy Young Adults

The 6-Minute Step Test (6-MST) is a simple, inexpensive field test that is increasingly used to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness. Whether sufficient performance is revealed by this test and the effect on it of motivational factors such as music is unknown. In this cross-sectional, randomized, and crossover research design, we aimed to analyze 6-MST performance and test outcomes in different music-related auditory conditions of non-musical/non-rhythmic [NM/NR], musical/non-rhythmic [M/NR], and musical/rhythmic [M/R]). We had 38 healthy young adults (M age = 21.21, SD = 1.21 years; 60% male) complete all tests, and we measured their number of steps taken, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, peripheral oxygen saturation, perceived dyspnea, and fatigue on the modified Borg scale. We recorded individually calculated submaximal values according to heart rate reached after three tests. The number of steps increased in the M/R condition relative to other conditions (p = 0.003), and the amount of change in perceived leg fatigue was also higher in the M/R condition (p < 0.017). Despite variable test performances in different auditory conditions, we found no statistically significant difference in cardiovascular fitness and symptoms (p > 0.05). We concluded that the 6-MST is a useful tool for assessing maximum cardiac tolerance, especially if administered while listening to rhythmic music.

Mapping Research Trends from 20 Years of Publications in Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation

This study aims to create an all-around insight into the evolutions, status, and global trends of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) research via enhanced bibliometric methods for the 2001-2020 time period. Articles concerning RAS were extracted from the Web of Science database. CiteSpace, Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and Graphpad Prism were employed to analyze publication patterns and research trends. A total of 586 publications related to RAS between 2001 and 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science database. The researcher Goswami U. made the greatest contribution to this field. The University of Toronto was the institution that published the most articles. Motor dysfunction, sensory perception, and cognition are the three major domains of RAS research. Neural tracking, working memory, and neural basis may be the latest research frontiers. This study reveals the publication patterns and topic trends of RAS based on the records published between 2001 and 2020. The insights obtained provided useful references for the future research and applications of RAS.

Effects of expressive art therapy on health status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a community-based cluster randomized controlled trial

Background and objective:

This study was performed to investigate the effect of expressive art therapy (EAT) on the health status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods:

This community-based cluster randomized controlled trial involved patients with COPD from 16 communities in China. Participants received either EAT plus usual care (UC) or UC only. General practitioners were trained in EAT before the intervention. The primary outcomes were depression and anxiety symptoms, measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and expressed as the HADS score for depression or anxiety (HADS-D or HADS-A, respectively). The secondary outcomes were the quality of life and dyspnoea, measured with the COPD assessment test (CAT). Dyspnoea was assessed using the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale. Lung function was expressed as the forced expiratory volume in 1 s as a percentage of the predicted value [FEV₁ (% pred)]. Outcome data were collected from all participants at baseline, 2 and 6 months.

Results:

In total, 360 participants with COPD and comorbid depression were included in the analysis with the control group of 181 receiving UC only and the intervention group of 179 receiving EAT plus UC. The EAT group showed significantly greater improvement in the HADS-D and HADS-A scores than the UC group at 2 months (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001, respectively) and 6 months (p < 0.001 for both). The CAT and mMRC scores were significantly lower in the EAT group than in the UC group at 2 and 6 months (p < 0.001 for all). The FEV₁ (% pred) was significantly higher in the EAT group than in the UC group at 6 months (p < 0.01).

Conclusion:

General practitioners can deliver EAT interventions. EAT can effectively reduce anxiety and depression symptoms and dyspnoea, improve quality of life and improve the pulmonary function of patients with COPD.