Clinical effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for the management of anxiety in community dwelling people living with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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#humans #independent-living #olanzapine #anxiety #treatment-outcome

Clinical effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for the management of anxiety in community dwelling people living with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Nimmons et al., 2024 | Neurosci Biobehav Rev | Meta Analysis

Citation

Nimmons Danielle, Aker Narin, ... Walters Kate. Clinical effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for the management of anxiety in community dwelling people living with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2024-Feb;157:105507. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105507

Abstract

People living with dementia commonly experience anxiety, which is often challenging to manage. We investigated the effectiveness of treatments for the management of anxiety in this population. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, and searched EMBASE, CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsycInfo. We estimated standardised mean differences at follow-up between treatments relative to control groups and pooled these across studies using random-effects models where feasible. Thirty-one studies were identified. Meta-analysis demonstrated non-pharmacological interventions were effective in reducing anxiety in people living with dementia, compared to care as usual or active controls. Specifically, music therapy (SMD-1.92(CI:-2.58,-1.25)), muscular approaches (SMD-0.65(CI:-1.02,-0.28)) and stimulating cognitive and physical activities (SMD-0.31(CI:-0.53,-0.09)). Pharmacological interventions with evidence of potential effectiveness included Ginkgo biloba, probiotics, olanzapine, loxapine and citalopram compared to placebo, olanzapine compared to bromazepam and buspirone and risperidone compared to haloperidol. Meta-analyses were not performed for pharmacological interventions due to studies' heterogeneity. This has practice implications when promoting the use of more non-pharmacological interventions to help reduce anxiety among people living with dementia.

Key Findings

This has practice implications when promoting the use of more non-pharmacological interventions to help reduce anxiety among people living with dementia.

Outcomes Measured

  • anxiety

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range See abstract
Condition anxiety

MeSH Terms

  • Humans
  • Independent Living
  • Olanzapine
  • Anxiety
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Dementia

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review, Journal Article
  • Vertical: ginkgo

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09