Reminiscence therapy meaningfully reduces loneliness in older adults, with group, professionally led formats showing the greatest benefit.

Background

Loneliness is common and harmful among older adults, linked to depression, anxiety, chronic disease, cognitive decline, and increased mortality. Reminiscence therapy—using personal memories and life narratives—may improve social connection and well-being. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy for reducing loneliness and compared types and delivery formats.

Patients

• Population: Older adults (generally ≥60 years) in communities, hospitals, and long-term care facilities; most without major cognitive impairment.
• Sample size: 22 studies (n=1,789) in the systematic review; 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n=1,039) in the meta-analysis.
• Geography: Multinational (e.g., China, Spain, Taiwan, Italy, USA, Netherlands, Malaysia, UK).

Intervention

• Reminiscence therapy in three main forms:
  • Simple reminiscence (most common)
  • Life review
  • Integrative reminiscence therapy
• Format: Individual or group (≈10 participants per group).
• Facilitators: Professionals (e.g., trained therapists/nurses) or non-professionals.
• Dosage: 1–2 sessions/week; duration 2 weeks to 8 months.
• Content/tools: Themes and stimuli (e.g., music, photographs, memorabilia) tailored to evoke memories and facilitate social interaction.

Control

• Usual/routine care
• Waitlist control
• Attention control or health education

Outcome

• Primary outcome: Loneliness (continuous), measured with validated tools (e.g., UCLA Loneliness Scale, De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Italian Loneliness Scale, ESTE-II).
• Secondary (exploratory) outcomes: Subgroup effects by intervention type (simple vs life review vs integrative), delivery format (group vs individual), facilitator (professional vs non-professional), and durability of effects over time. Some individual studies assessed depression, anxiety, quality of life, sleep quality, and resilience.

Study Design

• Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA 2020; Cochrane guidance); protocol registered (PROSPERO CRD42024588155).
• Search: 11 databases (English and Chinese) to 5 July 2024; reference lists hand-searched.
• Inclusion for meta-analysis: RCTs with validated loneliness measures and appropriate control conditions.
• Quality appraisal: Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP). Overall moderate quality: 1 strong, 13 moderate, 7 weak.

Level of Evidence

Level I (systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials).

Follow up period

• Primary timepoint: Post-intervention.
• Longer-term: Additional follow-ups in some studies (weeks to several months) showed sustained but attenuating effects over time.

Results

• Primary outcome (loneliness):
  • Across 14 RCTs (n=1,039), reminiscence therapy reduced loneliness versus control: Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) −1.52 (95% CI −2.11 to −0.93).
  • Heterogeneity was high (I²=94%); sensitivity analyses indicated robust findings.
• Secondary outcomes (subgroups and durability):
  • By intervention type:
    • Simple reminiscence: SMD −0.68
    • Life review: SMD −0.71
    • Integrative reminiscence therapy: SMD −0.63
  • By format: Group delivery had a larger effect (SMD −1.12) than individual (SMD −0.59).
  • By facilitator: Professional-led interventions outperformed non-professional-led (SMD −4.34 vs −1.11).
  • Durability: Reductions persisted after the intervention but diminished over time (larger effects at earlier follow-up points).
  • Publication bias: Egger’s test indicated possible bias; trim-and-fill suggested minimal impact on conclusions.
• NNT: Not applicable (continuous outcomes).

Limitations

• High between-study heterogeneity (intervention content, format, duration, settings, and measurement tools).
• Methodological constraints: limited reporting on randomization/blinding; overall moderate-to-low quality for many studies.
• Potential publication bias.
• Limited and variable long-term follow-up data; attenuation of effects over time.
• Language restriction to English and Chinese.

Funding

No funding declared. Conflicts of interest: none declared.

Citation

Yang H, Zhong Q, Han B, Pu Y, He R, Huang K, Jiao Y, Han R, Kong Q, Jia Y, Chen L. Effects of reminiscence therapy for loneliness in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Age and Ageing. 2025;54:afaf136. doi:10.1093/ageing/afaf136.