The effects of active and relaxing music on the short-term memory, attention and metabolic parameters of type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM)

Objective. Metabolic parameters and cognition are known to be impaired in diabetes, while music seems to have an impact on both. We aimed to study the effects of active and relaxing music on the short-term memory, attention and metabolic parameters of type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM). Methods. A two-day interventional, within-subject study was carried on 89 T2DM patients treated only with metformin and 67 age- and sex-matched control. The Pieron Toulouse test and Word Recognition Test were used to evaluate attention and short-term memory. The music listened to was the Allegro, respectively the Andante parts of 2 Mozart Sonatas. Cognitive tests, blood pressure and blood glucose measurements were performed before and after each 20 minutes of music intervention. Results. Baseline attention performance was better in the control group compared to T2DM (p<0.000). Performance improved significantly in both groups under both types of music, however the last to the first measurement difference was higher in the control group (p=0.04). Female T2DM participants had better improvement under active music (p<0.01). Short-term memory improved during active music, but this was significant only in the control group (p=0.041). Both types of music were associated with significantly lower systolic blood pressure (p=0.00), while relaxing music significantly reduced blood glucose levels (p=0.00). Conclusion. Our study highlighted the beneficial effect of music on metabolic and cognitive parameters, however, its impact depends on the type of music listened. Furthermore, cognitive scores of T2DM, especially in men, were less influenced by music than those of the control group.